THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


TALKS  ON  MANURES. 


A  SERIES  OF  FAMILIAR  AND  PRACTICAL  TALKS  BETWEEN  THE  AUTHOR 

AND  THE  DEACON,  THE  DOCTOR,  AND  OTHER  NEIGHBORS,  ON 

THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT  OF  MANURES  AND  FERTILIZERS. 


BY 

JOSEPH    HARRIS,    M.  'S. 

ATTTHOit   OF     "WALKS    AND    TALKS    ON    THE    FAKil,"      '  HAEKIS    ON    THE    PIG,"  ETC. 


NEW  '  AND     ENLARGED     EDITION, 

INCLUDING    A    CHAPTER    SPECIALLY    WEITTEN    FOR    IT    BY    SIR    JOHN 
BENNET  LAWES,   OF  ROTHAMSTED,   ENGLAND. 


NEW    YORK: 

ORANGE     JUDD     COMPANY, 
1893. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1883,  by  the 

ORANGE    JUDD    COMPANY," 
Ja  tne  Office  ol  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    L 

Fanning  as  a  Business.— High  Farming  and  Good  Farming.— Summer-fallow- 
ing and  Plowing  under  Clover. — We  must  raise  larger  Crops  per  Acre.—       * 
Destruction  of  Weeds. — Farming  is  Slow  Work.— It  requires  Personal  At- 
tention      8 

CHAPTER    II. 

What  is  Manure  ?— The  definitions  given  by  the  Deacon  and  the  Doctor 19 

CHAPTER    in. 

Something  about  Plant-food.— All  soibs  on  which  plants  grow  contain  it.— 
The  Season.— Water,  Shade,  Light,  and  Mulch,  not  Manures.— Several  Def- 
initions of  Manure 21 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Na:ural  Manure.  -Accumulated  Plant  food  in  the  Soil.— Exhaustion  of  the 
Soil.— Why  our  Crops  are  ?o  Poor.— How  to  get  Larger  Crops.— We  must 
Drain,  Cultivate  thoroughly,  and  Make  Richer  Manure 23 

CHAPTER   V. 

Swamp- muck  and  Peat  as  Manure.— Draining  Swamp-land.— Composition  of 
Peat  and  Muck 29 

CHAPTER    VL 

What  is  Potential  Ammonia 31 

CHAPTER    VDL 

Tillage  is  Manure.— The  Doctor's  Lecture  on  Manure 32 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Summer-fallowing.— Mr.  Lawes1  crop  every  other  year.— Wheat  after  Bar- 
ley.—For  Larger  Crops  raise  less  frequently,  and  Manure  Higher  ;  also 
keep  better  Stock,  and  Feed  Higher 34 

CHAPTER    IX. 

How  to  Restore  a  Worn-out  Farm — The  Author's  Farm.— Tillage  renders  the 
Plant-food  stored  in  the  soil  available.— Cultivated  Lands  contain  less 
Plant-food,  but  are  more  productive.— Grass  alone  will  not  make  rich  land.  37 

CHAPTER    X. 

How  to  Make  Manure.— We  must  get  it  out  of  the  Land 41 

CHAPTER    XL 

The  Value  of  the  Manure  depends  upon  the  Food— rot  npon  the  Animal 43 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Foods  which  Make  Rich  Manure.-  Tab!e  giving  the  composition  of  31  kinds 
of  Food,  and  the  value  of  tho  Manure  they  yield.— Cotton-seed  Cake.— 
English  and  German  Clover.— Nitrogenous  matter  in  Rich  and  Poor  Foods.  — 

Manure  from  Corn  compared  with  that  from  Straw 45 

III 


483! 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Horse-manure  and  Farm-yard  Manure.— Why  the  one  is  richer  than  the  oth- 
er.— Amount  of  Manure  from  a  Horse. — Composition  of  Farm-yard  Ma- 
nure.—We  draw  and  spread  a  ton  to  get  33  Ibs.  of  Nitrogen,  Phosphoric 
Acid,  and  Potash 50 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Fermenting  Manure.— Composition  of  Manure  when  Fresh  and  in  its  stages 
of  Fermentation. — Loss  in  Fermentation  and  from  Leaching. — Tables  show- 
ing the  composition  of  Manure  at  different  stages.— Fermenting  makes 
Manure  more  Soluble - 53 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Keeping  Manure  under  Cover. — Dr.  Vcelcker's  Experiments. — Manure  Fer- 
mented Outside  and  Under  Cover.— Loss  from  keeping  Manure  spread  in 
the  Barn-yard. — Keeping  well-rotted  Manure  in  a  Heap. — Conclusions  from 
Dr.  Veeleker's  Experiments 59 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

An  English  Plan  of  Keeping  Manure.— Bos  feeding  of  Cattle.— Spreading 
Manure  at  once.— Piling  in  Heaps  in  the  Field.— Old  Sods  and  Ashes  from 
CharredSods 09 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Soluble  Phosphates  in  Farm  yard  Manure.— Fermented,  the  Manure  has  the 
most.— Over  40  per  cent,  of  the  Phosphoric  Acid  is  Soluble  72 

CHAPTER    XVHI. 
How  the  Deacon  makes  Manure.  —A  good  plan  for  making  poor  Manure 74 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

How  John  Johnston  Manages  His  Manure. -Summer-fallows  for  Wheat- 
Does  not  plow  under  Clover.— Value  of  Manure  from  different  foods.— 
Piling  Manure.— Applies  Manure  to  Grass-land  in  Fall,  and  Plows  under  in 
Spring  for  Corn.— His  success  due  to  the  Effect  of  Manure  on  Grass  —It 
brought  in  Red  Clover 76 

CHAPTER    XX.     . 

The  Author's  Plan  of  Managing  Manure.— Piles  as  fast  as  it  is  Made.— What 
it  is  Made  of.— Horse  and  Cow  Manure  Together.— Horse  Manure  for  Bed- 
ding Pigs.— To  Prevent  Freezing.— Liquid  Manure  from  Pi»-s.-Beddin" 
Siuep.-Piling  in  the  Field.— Where  the  Piles  should  be  Made"— Manure  in 
a  Basin.-Reasons  for  Piling.-Wlmt  we  Gain  by  Fermenting  Manure 83 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

.Management  Continued.— Why  We  Ferment  Manure.— Dr.  Vrelcker's Experi- 
,  mem  s  showing  the  Loss  when  Manure  is  spread  in  Yard?.— Fermenting 
adds  Nothing  to  Manure,  but  makes  it  more  available.— Mr.  Lawes'  Experi" 
mc'iits  on  Wheat  and  Barley.— Dr.  Voelcker's  Results.— Elhvantrer  &  Barry's 
Experience.— Loss  of  Ammonia  by  Fermenting.— Waste  from  Leaching.— 
How  to  Save  the  Liquid  Manure  from  Cows. 94 

CHAPTER    XXn. 

Manure  on  Dairy  Farms.  —Wheat  removes  much  more  Nitrogen  than  Cheese.— 
Manures  for  Dairy  Farms.— Letter  from  HOP.  Harris  Lewis.— How  to  make 
more  and  better  Manure  on  Dairy  Farms. — How  to  save  and  apply  it. — Let- 
ter from  T.  L.  Harison,  Esq ...101 


CONTENTS.  Y 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Management  of  Manures  on  Grain  Farm:?. — Letter  from  Hon.  Gco.  Geddes. — 
Grain  011  Dairy  Farms. — Sheep  on  tiru.ii  Farm*. — Visit  to  John  Julius-ton. — 
Mr.  Lawes'  Wheat-field. — Mr.  Geddes  and  Clover. — Gypstun  ami  Clover  as 
Manures Ill 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

The  Cheapest  Manure  a  Farmer  cau  use. — Clover  vs.  Tillage. — As  Plaut- 
Food.— Constituents  of  a  Crop  of  Clover,  as  compared  with  oue  of  Wheat.— 
Making  a  Farm  Rich  by  Growing  Clover 127 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

Dr.  Voelcker's  Experiments  on  Clovur. — Lavves  and  Gilbert's  oa  Wheat. — 
Clover  Roots  per  Acre.— Manures  for  Wheat. — Liebig's  Manure  Theory. — 
Peruvian  Guano  on  Wheat. — Manures  and  the  Quality  of  Wheat. — Ammonia. 
— Ovjr  50  Bushels  of  Wheat  to  the  Acre ....135 

CHAPTER    XXVL 

Experiments  on  Clover  Soils  from  Burcott  Lodge  Farm,  Lcighton  Buzzard. — 
Soil  from  Part  of  11-acre  Field  twice  Mown  for  Hay. — Soil  from  do.  once 
Mown  for  Hay  and  left  for  Seed. — Amount  of  Roots  left  in  the  Soil  by  differ- 
ent Crops.— Manures  for  Wheat 149 

CHAPTER    XXVIL 

Lawes  and  Gilbert's  Experiments  on  Wheat. — Most  Valuable  and  Instructive 
Tables  now  first  made  accessible  to  the  American  Farmer. — Tlie  growth  of 
Wheat  Year  after  Year  on  the  same  Land,  nnmanurcd.  with  Farm-yard  Ma- 
nure, and  with  various  Organic  and  Inorganic  Fertilizers 170 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Lime  as  a  Manure.— Prof.  Way's  Experiments.— The  uses  of  Lime  in  the 
Soil. — Lime  in  this  Country. — Composts  with  Lime 215 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Manures  for  Barley. — Composition  of  Barley,  grain  find  straw. — Valuable  Ta- 
bles giving  the  Results  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  Experiments  on  the  growth 
of  Barley,  Year  after  Year,  on  the  same  Land,  without  Manure,  and  with 
different  kinds  of  Manure.— Manure  and  Rotation  of  Crops 237 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

Manures  for  Oats.— Experiments  at  Rothamstecl.— Experiments  of  Mr.  Bath 
of  Virginia.— At  Moreton  Farm 252 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Manures  for  Potatoes. — Peruvian  Gunno  for  Potatoes. — Manure  from  different 
Foods.— Epcriments  at  Moreton  Farm.— Mr.  Hunter's  Experiments 255 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

What  Crops  should  Manure  be  Applied  to? — How,  and  When? — John  J. 
Thomas'  manner  of  Applying  Manure.— Top  Dressing.— Doct.  Voelcker's 
Experiments 265 

CHAPTER    XXXIH. 

Manures  on  Permanent  Meadows  and  Pastures.— Experiments  at  Rothamsted.271 


VI  v  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

Manures  for  Special  Crops.— Hops.— Indian  Corn.— Turnips.— Mangel- Wurzel 
or  Sugar-Beets. — Cabbages,  Parsnips,  Lettuce,  Onions,  etc 274 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Manures  for  Gardens  and  Orchards — Market  Gardens. — Seed-growing  Farms. 
— Private  Gardens. — Hot-beds. — Manure  for  Nurserymen. — Fruit  Growers. 
— Heu-Mauure  294 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

Different  Kinds  of  Manures.— Cow  Manure.— Sheep  Manure.— Buying  Manure. 
— Liquid  Manure. — Nightsoil  and  Sewage. — Peruvian  Guano. — Salts  of  Ain- 
moiiiu  and  Nitrato  of  Soda 302 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

Bone-Dust  and  Superphosphate  of  Lime.— Bone  furnishes  Nitrogen  as  well  as 
Phosphate  of  Lime.— Increasing  the  Availability  of  Bone  with  Sulphuric 
Acid 314 

CHAPTER    XXXVIIL 

Special  Manures.— Liebig's  Views.— Special  Manure  for  Wheat  and  Turnips.^ 
— Rot  hamsted  Experiments  .  •"* 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

Value  of  Fertilizers'.— Cost,  per  pound  of  the  Essential  Constituents  of  Ferti- 
lizers.—Value  of  Guanos.— Potash  as  a  Manure 324 

CHAPTER    XL. 

Restoring  Fertility  to  the  Soil,  a  Chapter  by  Sir  John  Bennet  Lawes.-The 
Treatment  of  a  Poor  Farm,  to  Restore  it  most  Profitably.— Meat-making 
the  Back-bone  of  tae  System.— The  Use  of  Sheep  to  Manure  the  Soil.— 
The  Feeding  of  Cotton-seed  Cake.-Artificial  Manures  not  Profitable  on 
Poor  Land.— The  Loss  of  Nitrogen.— The  Formation  of  Nitric  Acid 34S 

APPENDIX. 

Letter  from  Edward  Jespop.-From  Dr.  E.  L.  Sturtevant.-From  M.  C.  Weld 
-From  Peter  Henderson.-From  J.  B.  M.  Anderson.-Manure  Statistics  of 
Loin.'  Island.— Letter  from  J.  H.  Rushmore.— Letter  from  John  E.  Backup 
—Manure  iu  Philadelphia.— Various  other  Letters 332 


INTRODUCTION   TO    NEW  AND    ENLARGED    EDITION. 


Sir  John  Bennet  Lawcs  kindly  consented  to  write  a  Chapter 
for  the  new  edition  of  this  work.  The  Deacon,  the  Doctor,  the 
Squire,  Charlie  and  myself  all  felt  nattered  and  somewhat 
bashful  at  iinding  ourselves  in  such  distinguished  company.  I 
need  not  say  that  this  new  Chapter  from  the  pen  of  the  most 
eminent  English  agricultural  investigator  is  worthy  of  a  very 
careful  study.  I  have  read  it  again  and  again,  and  each 
time  with  great  and  icnewed  inteiest.  I  could  wish  there  was 
more  of  it.  But  to  the  intelligent  and  well-informed  reader 
this  Chapter  will  be  valued  not  merely  for  what  it  contains,  but 
for  what  it  omits.  A  man  who  knew  less  would  write  more. 
Sir  John  goes  straight  to  the  mark,  and  we  have  here  his 
mature  views  on  one  of  the  most  important  questions  in 
agricultural  science  and  practice. 

Sir  John  describes  a  tract  of  poor  land,  and  tells  us  that  the 
cheapest  method  of  improving  and  enriching  it  is,  to  keep  a 
large  breeding  flock  of  sheep,  and  feed  them  American  cotton- 
seed cake.  We  are  pleased  to  find  that  this  is  in  accordance 
with  the  general  teaching  of  our  "  Talks,"  as  given  in  this  book 
several  years  ago. 

When  this  work  was  first  published,  some  of  my  friends 
expressed  surprise  that  I  did  not  recommend  the  more  e  xtended 
use  of  artificial  manures.  One  thing  is  certain,  since  that  time 
the  use  of  superphosphate  has  been  greatly  on  the  increase. 
And  it  seems  clear  that  its  use  must  be  profitable.  Where  I 
live,  in  Western  New  York,  it  is  sown  quite  generally  on  winter 
wheat,  and  also  on  barley  and  oats  in  the  spring.  On  corn  and 
potatoes,  its  use  is  not  so  common.  Whether  this  is  because 
its  application  to  these  crops  is  not  so  easy,  or  because  it  does 
not  produce  so  marked  an  increase  in  the  yield  per  acre,  I  am 
unable  to  say. 

Our  winter  wheat  is  sown  here  the  first,  second,  or  (rarely) 
the  third  week  in  September.  We  sow  from  ono  and  a  half  to 
two  and  a  quarter  bushels  per  acre,  It  is  almost  invariably 
sown  with  a  drill.  The  drill  has  a  fertilizer  attachment  that 
distributes  the  superphosphate  at  the  same  time  the  wheat  is 
(VII) 


VIII  TALKS   ON    MANURES. 

sown.  The  superphosphate  is  not  mixed  with  the  wheat,  but 
it  drops  into  the  same  tubes  with  the  wheat,  and  is  sown  with 
it  in  the  same  drill  mark.  In  this  way,  the  superphosphate  is 
deposited  where  the  roots  of  the  young  plants  can  immediately 
find  it.  For  barley  and  oats  the  same  method  is  adopted. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  cost  of  sowing  superphosphate  on 
these  crops  is  merely  nominal.  But  for  corn  and  potatoes, 
when  planted  in  hills,  the  superphosphate  must  be  dropped  in 
the  hill  by  hand,  and,  as  we  are  almost  always  hurried  at  that 
season  of  the  year,  we  are  impatient  at  anything  which  will 
delay  planting  even  for  a  day.  The  boys  want  to  go  fishing  ! 

This  is,  undoubtedly,  one  reason  why  superphosphate  is  not 
used  so  generally  with  us  for  corn  as  for  wheat,  barley,  and 
oats.  Another  reason  may  be,  that  one  hundred  pounds  of  corn 
will  not  sell  for  anything  like  as  much  as  one  hundred  pounds 
of  wheat,  barley,  and  oats. 

We  are  now  buying  a  very  good  superphosphate,  made  from 
Carolina  rock  phosphate,  for  about  one  and  a  half  cents  per 
pound.  We  usually  drill  in  about  two  hundred  pounds  per  acre 
at  a  cost  of  three  dollars.  Now,  if  this  gives  us  an  increase  of  five 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  worth  six  dollars,  we  think  it  pays. 
It  often  does  far  better  than  this.  Last  year  the  wheat  crop 
of  Western  New  York  was  the  best  in  a  third  of  a  century, 
which  is  as  far  back  as  I  have  had  anything  to  do  with  farming 
here.  Fi  om  all  I  can  learn,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  wheat  crop  of 
Western  New  York  has  ever  averaged  a  larger  yield  per  acre 
since  the  land  was  first  cultivated  after  the  removal  of  the 
original  forest.  Something  of  this  is  due  to  better  methods  of 
cultivation  and  tillage,  and  something,  doubtless,  to  the 
general  use  of  superphosphate,  but  much  more  to  the  favor- 
able season. 

The  present  year  our  wheat  crop  turned  out  exceedingly  poor. 
Hundreds  of  acres  of  wheat  were  plowed  up,  and  the  land  re- 
sown,  and  hundreds  more  would  have  been  plowed  up  had  it 
not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  land  was  seeded  with  timothy 
grasc  at  the  time  of  sowing  the  wheat,  and  with  clover  in  the 
spring.  We  do  not  like  to  lose  our  grass  and  clover. 

Dry  weather  in  the  autumn  was  the  real  cause  of  the  poor 
yield  of  wheat  this  year.  True,  we  had  a  very  trying  winter, 
and  a  still  more  trying  spring,  followed  by  dry,  cold  weather. 
The  season  was  very  backward.  We  wei  j  not  able  to  sow  any- 
thing in  the  fields  before  the  first  of  May,  and  our  wheat 
ought  to  have  been  ready  to  harvest  in  July.  On  the  first 


INTRODUCTION   TO    NEW    EDITION.  IX 

of  May,  many  of  our  wheat-fields,  especially  on  clay  land, 
looked  as  bare  as  a  naked  fallow. 

There  was  here  and  there,  a  good  field  of  wheat.  As  a  rule,  it 
was  on  naturally  moist  land,or  after  a  good  summer-fallow, sown 
early,  I  know  of  but  one  exception.  A  neighboring  nursery 
firm  had  a  very  promising  field  of  wheat,  which  was  sown  late. 
But  their  land  is  rich  and  unusually  well  worked.  It  is,  in  fact, 
in  the  very  highest  condition,  and,  though  sown  late,  the  young 
plants  were  enabled  to  make  a  good  strong  growth  in  the 
autumn. 

In  such  a  dry  season,  the  great  point  is,  to  get  the  seed  to 
germinate,  and  to  furnish  sufficient  moisture  and  food  to  enable 
the  young  plants  to  make  a  strong,  vigorous  growth  of  roots  in 
the  autumn.  I  do  not  say  that  two  hundred  pounds  of  super- 
phosphate per  acre,  drilled  in  with  the  seed,  will  always  accom- 
plish this  object.  But  it  is  undoubtedly  a  great  help.  It  does 
not  furnish  the  nitrogen  which  the  wheat  requires,  but  if  it  will 
stimulate  the  production  of  roots  in  the  early  autumn,  the 
plants  will  bo  much  more  likely  to  find  a  sufficient  supply  of 
nitrogen  in  the  soil  than  plants  with  fewer  and  smaller  roots. 

In  a  season  like  the  past,  therefore,  an  application  of  two 
hundred  pounds  of  superphosphate  per  acre,  costing  three  dol- 
lars, instead  of  giving  an  increase  of  five  or  six  bushels  per 
acre,  may  give  us  an  increase  of  fifteen  or  twenty  bushels  per 
acre.  That  is  to  say,  owing  to  the  dry  weather  in  the  autumn, 
followed  by  severe  weather  in  the  winter,  the  weak  plants  on 
the  unmanured  land  may  either  be  killed  out  altogether,  or 
injured  to  such  an  extent  that  the  crop  is  hardly  worth  har- 
vesting, while  the  wheat  where  the  phosphate  was  sown  may 
give  us  almost  an  average  crop. 

Sir  John  B.  Lawes  has  somewhere  compared  the  owner  of 
land  to  the  owner  of  a  coal  mine.  The  owner  cf  the  coal  digs 
it  and  gets  it  to  market  in  the  best  way  he  can.  The  farmer's 
coal  mine  consists  of  plant  food,  and  the  object  of  the  farmer 
is  to  get  this  food  into  such  plants,  or  such  parts  of  plants,  as 
his  customers  require.  It  is  hardly  worth  while  for  the  owner 
of  the  coal  mine  to  trouble  his  head  about  the  exhaustion  of 
the  supply  of  coal.  His  true  plan  is  to  dig  it  as  economi- 
cally as  he  can,  and  get  it  into  market.  There  is  a  good  deal 
of  coal  in  the  world,  and  there  is  a  good  deal  of  plant  food  in 
the  earth.  As  long  as  the  plant  food  lies  dormant  in  the  soil, 
it  is  of  no  value  to  man.  The  object  of  the  farmer  is  to  con- 
vert it  into  products  which  man  and  animals  require. 


X  TALKS   OX   MANURES. 

Mining  for  coal  is  a  very  simple  matter,  but  how  best  to  get 
the  greatest  quantity  of  plant  food  out  of  the  soil,  with  the  least 
waste  and  the  greatest  profit,  is  a  much  more  complex  and 
difficult  task.  Plant  food  consists  of  a  dozen  or  more  different 
substances.  We  have  talked  about  them  in  the  pages  of  this 
book,  and  all  I  wish  to  say  here  is  that  some  of  them  are  much 
more  abundant,  and  more  readily  obtained,  than  others.  The 
three  substances  most  difficult  to  get  at  are:  nitric  acid,  phos- 
phoric acid  and  potash.  All  these  substances  are  in  the  soil, 
but  some  soils  contain  much  more  than  others,  and  their  rela- 
tive proportion  varies  considerably.  The  substance  which  is  of 
the  greatest  importance,  is  nitric  acid.  As  a  rule,  the  fertility 
of  a  soil  is  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  nitric  acid  which 
becomes  available  for  the  use  of  plants  during  the  growing 
season.  Many  of  our  soils  contain  largo  quantities  of  nitrogen, 
united  with  carbon,  but  the  plants  do  not  take  it  up  in  this 
form.  It  has  to  be  converted  into  nitric  acid.  Nitric  acid  con- 
sists of  seven  pounds  of  nitrogen  and  twenty  pounds  of 
oxygen.  It  is  produced  by  the  combustion  of  nitrogen.  Since 
these  "Talks"  were  published,  several  important  facts  have  been 
discovered  in  regard  to  how  plants  take  up  nitrogen,  and  es- 
pecially in  regard  to  how  organic  nitrogen  is  converted  into 
nitric  acid.  It  is  brought  about  through  the  action  of  a  minute 
fungoid  plant.  Thera  are  several  things  necessary  for  the 
growth  of  this  plant.  We  must  have  some  nitrogenous  sub- 
stance, a  moderate  degree  of  heat,  say  from  seventy  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty  degrees,  a  moderate  amount  of  moisture, 
and  plenty  of  oxygen.  Shade  is  also  favorable.  If  too  hot  or 
too  cold,  or  too  wet  or  too  dry,  the  growth  of  the  plant  is 
checked,  and  the  formation  of  nitric  acid  su3pended.  The 
presence  of  lime,  or  of  some  alkali,  is  also  necessary  for  the 
growth  of  this  fungus  and  the  production  of  nitric  acid.  The 
nitric  acid  unites  with  the  lime,  and  forms  nitrate  of  lime,  or 
with  soda  to  form  nitrata  of  soda,  cv  with  potash  to  form 
nitrate  of  potash,  or  salt-petre.  A  water-logged  soil,  by  exclud- 
ing the  oxygen,  destroys  this  plant,  hence  one  of  the  advan- 
tages of  underdraining.  I  have  said  that  shade  is  favorable  to 
the  growth  of  this  fungus,  and  this  fact  explains  and  confirms 
the  common  idea  that  shade  is  manure. 

The  great  object  of  agriculture  is  to  convert  the  nitrogen  of 
our  soils,  or  of  green  crops  plowed  under,  or  of  manure,  into 
nitric  acid,  and  then  to  convert  this  nitric  acid  into  profitable 
products  with  as  little  loss  as  possible.  Nitrogen,  or  rather 


INTRODUCTION   TO    NEW    EDITION.  XI 

nitric  acid,  is  the  most  costly  ingredient  in  plant  food,  and  un- 
fortunately it  is  very  easily  washed  out  of  the  soil  and  lost. 
Perhaps  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  entirely  prevent  all  loss 
from  leaching;  but  it  is  certainly  well  worth  our  while  to  under- 
stand the  subject,  and  to  know  exactly  what  we  are  doing.  In 
a  new  country,  where  land  is  cheap,  it  may  be  more  profitable 
to  raise  as  large  crops  as  possible  without  any  regard  to  the 
loss  of  nitric  acid.  But  this  condition  of  things  does  not  lass 
long,  and  it  very  soon  becomes  desirable  to  adopt  less  wasteful 
processes. 

In  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  experiments,  thers  is  a  great  loss  of 
nitric  acid  from  drainage.  In  no  case  has  as  much  nitrogen 
been  obtained  in  the  increased  crop  as  was  applied  in  the  ma- 
nure. There  is  always  a  loss  and  probably  always  will  be.  But 
we  should  do  all  we  can  to  make  the  !o33  as  small  as  possible, 
consistent  with  the  production  of  profitable  crops. 

There  are  many  ways  of  lessening  this  loss  of  nitrie  acid.  Our 
farmers  sow  superphosphate  with  their  wheat  in  tin  autumn, 
and  this  stimulates,  we  think,  the  growth  of  roots,  which 
ramify  in  all  directions  through  the  soil.  This  increased 
growth  of  root  brings  the  plant  in  contact  with  a 
larger  feeding  surface,  and  enables  it  to  take  up  more  nitric 
acid  from  its  solution  in  the  soil.  S"ich  is  also  the  case  during 
the  winter  aid  early  spring,  when  a  good  deal  of  water  per- 
meates through  the  soil.  The  application  of  superphosphate, 
unquostionably  in  many  cases,  prevents  much  loss  of  nitric  acid. 
It  doss  this  by  giving  us  a  much  greater  growth  of  wheat. 

I  was  at  Rothamsted  in  1879,  and  witnessed  the  injurious 
effect  of  an  excessive  rainfall,  in  washing  out  of  the  soil 
nitrate  of  soda  and  salts  of  ammonia,  which  were  sown  with 
the  wheat  in  the  autumn.  It  was  an  exceedingly  wet  season, 
and  the  loss  of  nitrates  on  all  the  different  plots  was  very  great. 
But  where  the  nitrates  or  salts  of  ammonia  were  sown  in  the 
spring,  while  the  crops  were  growing,  the  loss  was  not  nearly 
so  great  as  when  sown  in  the  autumn. 

The  sight  of  that  wheat  field  impressed  me,  as  nothing  else 
could,  with  the  importance  of  guarding  against  the  loss  of 
available  nitrogen  from  leaching,  and  it  has  changed  my  prac- 
tice in  two  or  three  important  respects.  I  realize,  as  never  be- 
fore, the  importance  of  applying  manure  to  crops,  rather  than 
to  the  land.  I  mean  by  this,  that  the  object  of  applying  ma- 
nure is,  not  simply  to  make  land  rich,  but  to  make  crops  grow. 
Manure  is  a  costly  and  valuable  article,  and  we  want  to  convert 


XII  TALKS   ON    MANURES. 

it  into  plants,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  which  will,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  bring  in  some  money. 

Our  climate  is  very  different  from  that  of  England.  As  a 
rule,  we  seldom  have  enough  rain,  from  the  time  corn  is  planted 
until  it  is  harvested,  to  more  than  saturate  the  ground  on  our 
upland  soils.  This  year  is  an  exception.  On  Sunday  night, 
May  20,  1883,  we  had  a  northeast  storm  which  continued  three 
days.  During  these  three  days,  from  three  to  five  inches  of 
rain  fell,  and  for  tne  first  time  in  many  years,  at  this  season,  my 
underdrains  discharged  water  to  their  full  capacity.  Had 
nitrate  of  soda  been  sown  on  bare  land  previous  to  this  rain, 
much  of  it  would,  doubtless,  have  been  lost  by  leaching.  This, 
however,  is  an  exceptional  case.  My  underdrains  usually  do 
not  commence  to  discnarga  water  before  the  rirst  of  December, 
or  continue  later  than  the  first  of  May.  To  guard  against  loss 
of  nitrogsii  by  leaching,  therefore,  we  should  aim  to  keep  rich 
land  occupied  by  some  crop,  during  the  winter  and  early 
spring,  and  the  earlier  the  crop  is  sown  in  the  autumn  or  late 
summer,  the  bettar,  so  that  the  roots  will  the  more  completely 
fill  the  ground  and  take  up  all  the  available  nitrogen  within 
their  reach.  I  havo  said  that  this  idea  had  modified  my  own 
practice.  I  grow  a  considerable  quantity  of  garden  vegetables, 
principally  for  s-esd.  It  is  necessary  to  make  the  land  very 
rich.  The  plan  I  have  adopted  to  guard  against  the  loss  of 
nitrogen  is  this  :  As  soon  as  the  land  is  cleared  of  any  crop, 
after  it  is  too  late  to  sow  turnips,  I  sow  it  with  rye  at  the  rate 
of  one  and  a  half  to  two  bushels  per  acre.  On  this  rich  land, 
especially  on  the  moist  low  land,  the  rye  makes  a  great 
growth  during  our  warm  autumn  weather.  The  rye  checks 
the  growth  of  weeds,  and  furnishes  a  considerable  amount  of 
succulent  food  for  sheep,  during  the  autumn  or  in  the  spring. 
If  not  needed  for  food,  it  can  be  turned  under  in  the  spring  for 
manure.  It  unquestionably  prevents  the  loss  of  considerable 
nitric  acid  from  leaching  during  the  winter  and  early  spring. 

Buckwheat,  or  millet,  is  sometimes  sown  on  such  land  for 
plowing  under  as  manure,  but  as  these  crops  are  killed  out  by 
the  winter,  they  cannot  prevent  the  loss  of  nitric  acid  during 
the  winter  and  spring  months.  It  is  only  on  unusually  rich 
land  that  such  precautions  are  particularly  necessary.  It  has 
been  thought  that  these  experiments  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert 
afford  a  strong  argument  against  the  use  of  summer-fallows. 
I  do  not  think  so.  A  summer-fallow,  in  this  country,  is  usu- 
ally a  piece  of  land  which  has  been  seeded  down  one,  two,  and 


INTRODUCTION   TO   NEW   EDITION.  XIII 

sometimes  three  years,  with  red  clover.  The  land  is  plowed  in 
May  or  June,  and  occasionally  in  July,  and  is  afterwards  sown 
to  winter  wheat  in  September.  The  treatment  of  the  summer- 
fallow  varies  in  different  localities  and  on  different  farms. 

Sometimes  the  land  is  only  plowed  once.  The  clover,  or  sod, 
is  plowed  under  deep  and  well,  and  the  after-treatment  con- 
sists in  keeping  the  surface  soil  free  from  weeds,  by  the  fre- 
quent use  of  the  harrow,  roller,  cultivator  or  gang-plow.  In 
other  cases,  especially  on  heavy  clay  land,  the  first  plowing  is 
done  early  in  the  spring,  and  when  the  sod  is  sufficiently 
rotted,  the  land  is  cross-plowed,  and  afterwards  made  tine  and 
mellow  by  the  use  of  the  roller,  harrow,  and  cultivator.  Just 
before  sowing  the  wheat,  many  good,  old-fashioned  farmers, 
plow  the  land  again.  But  in  this  section,  a  summer-fallow, 
plowed  two  or  three  times  during  the  summer,  is  becoming 
more  and  more  rare  every  year. 

Those  farmers  who  summer-fallow  at  all,  as  a  rule,  plow  their 
land  but  once,  and  content  themselves  with  mere  surface  culti- 
vation afterwards.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  also,  that  summer 
fallows  of  all  kinds  are  by  no  means  as  common  as  formerly. 
This  fact  may  be  considered  an  argument  against  the  use  of 
summer -fallowing;  but  it  is  not  conclusive  in  my  mind.  Patient 
waiting  is  not  a  characteristic  of  the  age.  We  are  inclined  to 
take  risks.  We  prefer  to  sow  our  land  to  oats,  or  barley,  and 
run  the  chance  of  getting  a  good  wheat  crop  after  it,  rather 
than  to  spend  several  months  in  cleaning  and  mellowing  the 
land,  simply  to  grow  one  crop  of  wheat. 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me  entirely  unnecessary  to  urge 
farmers  not  to  summer-fallow.  We  all  naturally  prefer  to  see 
the  land  occupied  by  a  good  paying  crop,  rather  than  to  spend 
time,  money,  and  labor,  in  preparing  it  to  produce  a  crop  twelve 
or  fifteen  months  afterwards.  Yet  some  of  the  agricultural  edi- 
tors and  many  of  the  agricultural  writers,  seem  to  take  delight 
in  deriding  the  old-fashioned  summer-fallow.  The  fact  that 
Lawes  and  Gilbert  in  England  find  that,  when  land  contains 
considerable  nitric  acid,  the  water  which  percolates  through 
the  soil  to  the  underdrains  beneath,  contains  more  nitrate  of 
lime  when  the  land  is  not  occupied  by  a  crop,  than  when  the 
roots  of  growing  plants  fill  the  soil,  is  deemed  positive  proof 
that  summer-fallowing  is  a  wasteful  practice. 

If  we  summer-fallowed  for  a  spring  crop,  as  I  have  some- 
tunes  done,  it  is  quite  probable  that  there  would  be  a  loss  of 
nitrogen.  But,  as  I  have  said  before,  it  is  very  seldom  that  any 


XIV  TALKS   OX    MANURES. 

water  passes  through  the  soil  from  the  time  we  commence  fc  .4  • 
summer-fallow  until  the  wheat  is  sown  in  the  autumn,  or  foi 
many  weeks  afterwards.  The  nitrogen,  which  is  converted 
into  nitric  acid  by  the  agency  of  a  good  summer-fallow,  is  no 
more  liable  to  bo  washed  out  of  the  soil  after  the  field  is  sown 
to  wluat  in  the  autumn,  than  if  we  applied  the  nitrogen  in  the 
form  of  some  readily  available  manure. 

I  still  believe  in  summer  fallows.  If  I  had  my  life  to  live 
over  again,  I  would  certainly  summer- fallow  more  than  I  have 
done.  I  have  been  an  agricultural  writer  for  one-third  of  a 
century,  and  have  persistently  advocated  the  more  extended 
use  of  the  summer-fallow.  I  have  nothing  to  take  back,  unless 
it  is  what  I  have  said  in  reference  to  "  fall-fallowing."  Possibly 
this  practice  may  result  in  loss,  though  I  do  not  think  so. 

A  good  summer-fallow,  on  rather  heavy  clay  land,  if  the  con- 
ditions are  otherwise  favorable,  is  pretty  sure  to  give  us  a  good 
crop  of  wheat,  and  a  good  crop  of  clover  and  grass  afterwards. 
Of  course,  a  farmer  who  has  nice,  clean  sandy  soil,  will  not 
think  of  summer-fallowing  it.  Such  soils  are  easily  worked, 
and  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to  keep  them  clean  without 
summer-fallowing.  Such  soils,  however,  seldom  contain  a 
large  store  of  unavailable  plant  food,  and  instead  of  summer- 
fallowing,  we  had  better  manure.  On  such  soils  artificial  ma- 
nures are  often  very  profitable,  though  barn-yard  manure,  or 
the  droppings  of  animals  feeding  on  the  land,  should  be  the 
prime  basis  of  all  attempts  to  maintain,  or  increase,  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  such  soils. 

Since  this  book  was  first  published,  I  do  not  know  of  any  new 
facts  in  regard  to  the  important  question  of,  how  best  to 
manage  and  apply  our  barn-yard  manure,  so  as  to  make  it  more 
immediately  active  and  available.  It  is  unquestionably  true, 
that  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen  in  barn-yard  manure,  will 
not  produce  so  great  an  effect  as  its  theoretical  value  would  in- 
dicate. There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  better  wr 
feed  our  animals,  and  the  more  carefully  we  save  the  liquids 
the  more  valuable  and  active  will  be  the  manure. 

The  conversion  of  the  inert  nitrogen  of  manures  and  soils, 
into  nitric  acid,  as  already  stated,  is  now  known  to  be  produced 
by  a  minute  fungus.  I  hope  it  will  be  found  that  we  can  intro- 
duce this  bacterium  into  our  manure  piles,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
greatly  aid  the  conversion  of  inert  nitrogen  into  nitrates. 

Experiments  have  been  made,  and  are  still  continued,  at 
Viroburn.  under  the  auspices  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society 


INTRODUCTION  TO   NEW   EDITION.  XV 

of  England,  to  ascertain,  among  other  things,  whether  manure 
from  sheep  receiving  an  allowance  of  cotton-seed  cake  is  any 
richer  than  that  from  sheep,  otherwise  fed  alike,  but  having, 
instead  of  cotton-seed  cake,  the  same  amount  of  corn  meal.  We 
know  that  such  manure  contains  more  nitrogen,  and  other 
plant  food,  than  that  from  the  corn  meal.  But  the  experiments 
so  far,  though  they  have  been  continued  for  several  years,  do 
not  show  any  striking  superiority  of  the  manure  from  cotton- 
seed cake  over  that  from  corn  meal.  I  saw  the  wheat  on  these 
differently  manured  plots  in  1879.  Dr.  Voelcker  and  Dr.  Gil- 
bert, told  me  that,  one  of  two  plots  was  dressed  with  the  cot- 
ton-seed manure,  and  the  other  with 'the  corn  meal  manure, 
and  they  wanted  me  to  say  which  was  the  most  promising 
crop.  I  believe  the  one  I  said  was  the  better,  was  the  cotton- 
seed plot.  But  the  difference  was  very  slight.  The  truth  is 
that  such  experiments  must  be  continued  for  many  years  before 
they  will  prove  any  tiling.  As  I  said  before,  we  know  that  the 
manure  from  the  cotton-seed  cake  is  richer  in  nitrogen  than 
that  from  the  corn  meal ;  but  we  also  know  that  this  nitrogen 
will  not  produce  so  great  an  effect,  as  a  much  smaller  amount 
of  nitrogen  in  salts  of  ammonia,  or  nitrate  of  soda. 

In  going  over  these  experiments,  I  was  struck  with  the 
heaUhy  and  vigorous  appearance  of  one  of  the  plots  of  wheat, 
and  asked  how  it  was  manured.  Dr.  Vcelcker  called  out, 
"  clover,  Mr.  Harris,  clover."  In  England,  as  in  America,  it 
requires  very  little  observation  and  experience  to  convince  any 
one  of  the  value  of  clover.  After  what  I  have  said,  and  what 
the  Deacon,  the  Doctor,  Charley  and  the  Squire  have  said,  in 
the  pages  of  this  book,  I  hope  no  one  will  think  that  I  do  not 
appreciate  the  great  value  of  red  clover  as  a  means  of  enrich- 
ing our  land.  Dr.  Voelcker  evidently  thought  I  was  skeptical 
on  this  point.  I  am  not.  I  have  great  faith  in  the  benefits  to 
be  derived  from  the  growth  of  clover.  But  I  do  not  think  it 
originates  fertility  ;  it  does  not  get  nitrogen  from  the  atmos- 
phere. Or  at  any  rate,  we  have  no  evidence  of  it.  The  facts 
are  all  the  other  way.  We  have  discussed  this  question  at 
considerable  length  in  the  pages  of  this  book,  and  it  is 
not  necessary  to  say  more  on  the  subject.  I  would,  however, 
particularly  urge  farmers,  especially  those  who  are  using  phos- 
phates freely,  to  grow  as  much  clover  as  possible,  and  feed  it 
out  on  the  farm,  or  plow  it  under  for  manure. 

The  question  is  frequently  asked,  whether  the  use  of  phos- 
phates will  ultimately  impoverish  our  farms.  It  may,  or  it  may 


XYI  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

not.  It  depends  on  our  general  management.  Theoretically, 
the  use  of  a  manure  furnishing  only  one  element  of  plant  food, 
if  it  increases  the  growth  of  crops  which  are  sold  from  the 
farm,  must  have  a  tendency  to  impoverish  the  land  of  the  other 
elements  of  plant  food.  In  other  words,  the  use  of  superphos- 
phate furnishing  only,  or  principally,  phosphoric  acid,  lime  and 
sulphuric  acid,  must  have  a  tendency  to  impoverish  the  soil  of 
nitrogen  and  potash.  Practically,  however,  it  need  do  nothing 
of  the  kind.  If  the  land  is  well  cultivated,  and  if  our  low, 
rich,  alluvial  portions  of  the  farm  are  drained,  and  if  the  hay, 
grass,  clover,  straw  and  fodder  crops  are  retained,  the  more 
phosphates  we  use,  the  richer  and  more  productive  will  the 
farm  become.  And  I  think  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  farmers  who 
use  the  most  phosphates,  are  the  very  men  who  take  the  great- 
est pains  to  drain  their  land,  cultivate  it  thoroughly,  and  make 
the  most  manure.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  use  of  phos- 
phates is  a  national  benefit. 

Some  of  our  railroad  managers  take  this  view  of  the  subject. 
They  carry  superphosphate  at  a  low  rate,  knowing  that  its  use 
will  increase  the  freight  the  other  way.  In  other  words,  they 
bring  a  ton  of  superphosphate  from  the  seaboard,  knowing  that 
its  use  will  give  them  many  tons  of  freight  of  produce,  from 
the  interior  to  the  seaboard.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for 
two  hundred  pounds  of  superphosphate,  to  give  an  increase  of 
five  tons  of  turnips  per  acre.  Or,  so  to  spe-ik,  the  railroad  that 
brings  one  ton  of  superphosphate  from  the  seaboard,  might,  as 
the  result  of  its  use,  have  fifty  tons  of  freight  to  carry  back 
again.  This  is  perhaps  a'u  exceptionably  favorable  instance, 
but  it  illustrates  the  principle.  Years  ago,  before  the  abolition 
of  tolls  on  the  English  turnpike  roads,  carriages  loaded  with 
lime,  and  all  other  substances  intended  for  manure,  were 
allowed  to  go  free.  And  our  railroads  will  find  it  to  their  in- 
t?rest  to  transport  manures  of  all  kinds,  at  a  merely  nominal 
rate. 

Many  people  will  be  surprised  at  the  recommendation  of  Sir 
John  B.  Lawes,  not  to  waste  time  and  money  in  cleaning  poor 
land,  before  seeding  it  down  to  grass.  He  thinks  that  if  the 
land  is  made  rich,  the  superior  grasses  overgrow  the  bad 
grasses  and  weeds.  I  have  no  doubt  he  is  right  in  this,  though 
the  principle  may  be  pushed  to  an  extreme.  Our  climate,  in 
this  country,  is  so  favorable  for  killing  weeds,  that  the  plow 
and  the  cultivator  will  probably  be  a  more  economical  means 
of  making  our  land  clean,  than  the  liberal  use  of  expensive 


INTRODUCTION   TO   NEW    EDITION.  XVII 

manures.  It  depends,  doubtless,  on  the  land  and  on  circum- 
stances. It  is  well  to  know  that  manure  on  grass  land,  will  so 
increase  the  growth  of  the  good  grasses,  as  to  smother  the 
weeds.  Near  my  house  was  a  piece  of  land  that  I  wanted  to 
make  into  a  lawn.  I  sowed  it  with  grass  seed,  but  the  weeds 
smothered  it  out.  I  plowed  it,  and  hoed  it,  and  re-seeded  it, 
'  but  still  the  weeds  grew.  Mallows  came  up  by  the  thousand, 
with  other  weeds  too  numerous  to  mention.  It  was  an  eye- 
sore.  We  mowed  the  weeds,  but  almost  despaired  of  ever 
making  a  decent  bit  of  grass  land  out  of  it.  It  so  happened 
that,  one  year,  we  placed  the  chicken  coops  on  this  miserable 
weedy  spot.  The  hens  and  chickens  were  kept  there  for  several 
weeks.  The  feed  and  the  droppings  made  it  look  more  un- 
sightly than  ever,  but  the  next  spring,  as  if  by  magic,  the 
weeds  were  gone  and  the  land  was  covered  with  dark  green 
luxuriant  grass. 

In  regard  to  the  use  of  potash  as  a  manure,  we  have  still 
much  to  learn.  It  would  seem  that  our  grain  crops  will  use 
soda,  if  tliey  cannot  get  potash.  They  much  prefer  the  potash, 
and  will  grow  much  more  luxuriantly  where,  in  the  soil  or  ma- 
nure, in  addition  to  the  other  elemgnts  of  plant  food,  potash  is 
abundant.  But  the  increased  growth  caused  by  the  potash,  is 
principally,  if  not  entirely,  straw,  or  leaves  and  stem.  Nature 
makes  a  great  effort  to  propagate  the  species.  A  plant  of  wheat 
or  barley,  will  produce  seed  if  this  is  possible,  even  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  other  parts  of  the  plant. 

For  grain  crops,  grown  for  seed,  therefore,  it  would  seem  to 
be  entirely  unprofitable  to  use  potash  as  a  manure.  If  the  soil 
contains  the  other  elements  of  plant  food,  the  addition  of 
potash  may  give  us  a  much  more  luxuriant  growth  of  leaves 
and  stem,  but  no  more  grain  or  seed.  For  hay,  or  grass  or  fod- 
der crops,  the  case  is  very  different,  and  potash  may  often  be 
used  on  these  crops  to  great  advantage. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  considerable  nitrate  of  soda  will 
yet  be  used  in  this  country  for  manure.  I  do  not  suppose  it  will 
pay  as  a  rule,  on  wheat,  corn  and  other  standard  grain  crops. 
But  the  gardener,  seed  grower,  and  nurseryman,  will  find  out 
how  to  use  it  with  great  profit.  Our  nurserymen  say  that  they 
cannot  use  artificial  manures  with  any  advantage.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  a  dressing  of  superphosphate,  sown  on  a 
block  of  nursery  trees,  will  do  little  good.  It  never  reaches  the 
foots  of  the  plants.  Superphosphate  can  not  be  washed  down 
deep  into  the  soil.  Nitrate  of  soda  is  readily  carried  dov/n,  as 


XVIII  TALKS   OX   MANURES. 

deep  as  the  water  sinks.  For  trees,  therefore,  it  would  seem 
desirable  to  apply  the  superhosphate  before  they  are  planted, 
and  plow  it  under.  And  the  same  is  true  of  potash  ;  but 
nitrate  of  soda  would  be  better  applied  as  a  top-dressing  every 
year,  early  in  the  spring. 

The  most  discouraging  fact,  in  Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  experi- 
ments, is  J;he  great  loss  of  nitrogen.  It  would  seem  that,  on  an 
average,  during  the  last  forty  years,  about  one-half  the  ni- 
trogen is  washed  out  of  the  soil,  or  otherwise  lost.  I  can  not 
but  hope  and  believe  that,  at  any  rate  in  this  country,  there  is 
no  such  loss  in  practical  agriculture.  In  Lawes'  and  Gilbert's 
experiments  on  wheat,  this  grain  is  grown  year  after  year,  on 
the  same  land.  Forty  annual  crops  have  been  removed.  No 
clover  is  sown  with  the  wheat,  and  great  pains  are  taken  to 
keep  the  land  clean.  The  crop  is  hoed  while  growing,  and  the 
weeds  are  pulled  out  by  hand.  The  best  wheat  season  during 
the  forty  years,  was  the  year  1863.  The  poorest,  that  of  1879  ; 
and  it  so  happened,  that  after  an  absence  of  thirty  years,  I  was 
at  Rothamsted  during  this  poor  year  of  1879.  The  first  thing 
that  struck  me,  in  looking  at  the  experimental  wheat,  was  the 
ragged  appearance  of  the  crop.  My  own  wheat  crop  was  being 
cut  the  day  I  laf  t  home,  July  15.  Several  men  and  boys  were 
pulling  weeds  out  of  the  experimental  wheat,  two  weeks  later. 
Had  the  weeds  been  suffered  to  grow,  Sir  John  Bennet  Lawes 
tells  us,  there  would  be  less  loss  of  nitrogen.  The  loss  of  ni- 
trogen in  1863,  was  about  twenty-four  pounds  per  acre,  and  in 
1879  fifty  pounds  per  acre— the  amount  of  available  nitrogen, 
applied  in  each  year,  being  eighty-seven  pounds  per  acre.  As  I 
said  before,  the  wheat  in  1879  had  to  me  a  ragged  look.  It  was 
thin  on  the  ground.  There  were  not  plants  enough  to  take  up 
and  evaporate  the  large  amount  of  water  which  fell  during  the 
wet  season.  Such  a  condition  of  things  rarely  occurs  in  this 
country.  We  sow  timothy  with  our  winter  wheat,  in  the 
autumn,  and  red  clover  in  the  spring.  After  the  wheat  is 
harvested,  we  frequently  have  a  heavy  growth  of  clover  in  the 
autumn.  In  such  circumstances  I  believe  there  would  be  com- 
paratively little  loss  of  nitrogen. 

In  the  summer-fallow  experiments,  which  have  now  been 
continued  for  twenty-seven  years,  there  has  been  a  great  loss  of 
nitrogen.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  this  case.  No  one  ever 
advocates  summer-fallowing  land  every  other  year,  and  sow- 
ing nothing  but  wheat.  When  we  summer-fallow  a  piece  of 
land  for  wheat,  we  seed  it  down  with  grass  and  clover. 


INTRODUCTION   TO    NEW   EDITION.  XIX 

There  is,  as  a  rule,  very  little  loss  of  nitrogen  by  drainage  while 
the  wheat  is  growing  on  the  ground,  but  after  the  wheat  is  cut, 
the  grass  and  clover  are  pretty  sure  to  take  up  all  the  available 
nitrogen  within  the  range  of  their  roots.  This'  summer-fallow 
experiment,  instead  of  affording  an  argument  against  the  use 
of  summer-fallowing,  is  an  argument  in  its  favor.  The  sum- 
mer-fallow, by  exposing  the  soil  to  the  decomposing  influences 
of  the  atmosphere,  converts  more  or  less  of  the  inert  nitro- 
genous organic  matter  into  ammonia  and  nitric  acid.  This  is 
precisely  what  a  farmer  wants.  It  is  just  what  the  wheat  crop 
needs.  But  we  must  be  very  careful,  when  we  render  the  ni- 
trogen soluble,  to  have  some  plant  ready  to  take  it  up,  and  not 
let  it  be  washed  out  of  the  soil  during  the  winter  and  early 
spring. 

We  have  much  poor  land  in  the  United  States,  and  an  im- 
mense area  of  good  land.  The  poor  land  will  be  used  to  grow 
timber,  or  be  improved  by  converting  more  or  less  of  it,  gradu- 
ally, into  pasture,  and  stocking  it  with  sheep  and  cattle.  The 
main  point  is,  to  feed  the  sheep  or  cattle  with  some  rich  nitro- 
genous food,  such  as  cotton-seed  cake,  malt-sprouts,  bran, 
shorts,  mill-feed,  refuse  beans,  or  bean-meal  made  from  beans 
injured  by  the  weevil,  or  bug.  In  short,  the  owner  of  such 
la:id  must  buy  such  food  as  will  furnish  the  most  nutriment 
and  make  the  richest  manure  at  the  least  cost — taking  both  of 
these  objects  into  consideration.  He  will  also  buy  more  or  less 
artificial  manures,  to  be  used  for  the  production  of  fodder 
crops,  such  as  corn,  millet,  Hungarian  grass,  etc.  And,  as  soon 
as  a  portion  of  the  land  can  be  made  rich  enough,  he  will  grow 
more  or  less  mangel  wurzels,  sugar  beets,  turnips,  and  other 
root  crops.  Superphosphate  will  be  found  admirably  adapted  for 
this  purpose,  and  two,  three,  or  four  hundred  pounds  of  cheap 
potash  salts,  per  acre,  can  frequently  be  used  on  fodder  crops, 
in  connection  with  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  of  superphos- 
phate, with  considerable  profit.  The  whole  subject  is  well 
worthy  of  careful  study.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  world 
has  there  been  a  grander  opportunity  for  the  application  of 
science  to  the  improvement  of  agriculture  than  now. 

On  the  richer  lands,  the  aim  of  the  farmer  will  be  to  convert 
the  plant  food  lying  dormant  in  the  soil  into  profitable  crops. 
The  main  point  is  good  tillage.  In  many  cases  weeds  now  run 
away  with  half  our  crops  and  all  our  profits.  The  weeds  which 
spring  up  after  the  grain  crops  are  harvested,  are  not  an  un- 
mixed evil.  They  retain  the  nitrogen  and  other  plant  food,  and 


XX  TALKS   OX   MANURES. 

vhen  turned  under  make  manure  fcr  the  succeeding  crops. 
But  weeds  among  the  growing  crop  are  evil,  and  only  an  evil. 
Thorough  plowing  is  the  remedy,  accompanied  by  drainage 
where  needed. 

We  have  an  immense  number  of  farms  on  which  there  are 
both  good  and  poor  land.  In  such  cases  we  must  adopt  a  com- 
bined system.  We  must  grow  large  crops  on  the  rich  land  end 
use  them,  at  least  in  part,  to  make  manure  for  the  poorer  por- 
tions of  the  farm.  Drainage  and  good  tillage  will  convert 
much  of  our  low,  rlluvial  lands  into  a  perfect  mine  of  wealth. 
And  much  of  our  high,  rolling  land  consists  of  strong  loam, 
abounding  in  plant  food.  Such  land  requires  little  more  than 
thorough  tillage,  with  perhaps  two  hundred  pounds  of  super- 
phosphate per  acre,  to  enable  it  to  produce  good  grain  crops. 

After  all  is  said  and  done,  farming  is  a  business  that  requires 
not  merely  science,  but  industry,  economy,  and  common  sense. 
The  real  basis  of  success  is  faith,  accompanied  with  good  works. 
I  cannot  illustrate  this  better  than  by  alluding  to  one  of  my 
neighbors,  a  strong,  healthy,  intelligent,  observing  and  enter- 
prising German,  who  commenced  life  as  a  farm  laborer,  and  is 
to-day  wortii  at  least  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  that  he 
has  made,  not  by  the  advance  of  suburban  property,  b'^.t  by 
farming,  pure  and  simple.  He  first  rented  a  farm,  and  then 
bought  it,  and  in  a  few  years  he  bought  another  farm  adjoin- 
ing the  first  one,  and  would  to-day  buy  another  if  he  found  one 
that  suited  him.  He  has  faith  in  farming.  Some  people  think 
he  "  runs  his  land,"  and,  in  fact,  such  is  the  case.  He  keeps 
good  teams,  and  good  plows,  and  good  harrows,  and  good 
rollers,  and  good  cultivators,  and  good  grade  Shorthorn  cows. 
He  acts  as  though  he  believed,  as  Sir  John  B.  Lawes  says,  that 
"  the  soil  is  a  mine,"  out  of  which  he  digs  money  He  runs 
his  land  for  all  it  is  worth.  He  raises  wheat,  barley,  oats,  corn, 
potatoes,  and  hay,  and  when  he  can  get  a  good  price  for  his 
timothy  hay,  he  draws  it  to  market  and  sells  it.  Thorough  til- 
lage is  the  basis  of  his  success.  He  is  now  using  phosphates 
for  wheat,  and  will  probably  increase  his  herd  of  cows  and 
make  more  manure.  He  has  great  faith  in  manure,  but  acts 
as  though  h?  had  still  greater  faith  in  good  plowing,  early 
sowing,  and  thorough  cultivation. 


PEEFACE    TO    FIRST    EDITION. 


The  Printers  have  got  our  "Talks  on  Manures  "in  type;  and 
the  publishers  want  a  Preface. 

The  Deacon  is  busy  hoeing  his  corn ;  the  Doctor  is  gone  to  Rice 
Laks,  fishing;  Charley  is  cultivating  mangels;  the  Squire  is  hay- 
ing, and  I  am  here  alone,  with  a  pencil  in  hand  and  a  sheet  of 
blank  paper  before  me.  I  -would  far  rather  be  at  work.  In  fact, 
I  have  only  just  come  in  from  the  field. 

Now,  what  shall  I  say  ?  It  will  do  no  good  to  apologize  for  tho 
deficiencies  of  the  book.  If  the  critics  condescend  to  notice  it  at 
all,  nothing  I  can  say  will  propitiate  their  favor,  or  moderate  their 
censure.  They  ara  an  independent  set  of  fellows  !  I  know  tkeni 
well.  I  am  an  old  editor  myseli,  and  nothing  would  plcaso  me 
better  than  to  sit  do\vn  and  write  a  slashing  criticism  of  these 
"  Talks  on  Manures." 

But  I  am  denied  that  pleasure.     The  critics  have  the  floor. 

All  I  will  say  hers,  is,  that  the  book  is  what  it  pretends  to  be. 
Some  people  seem  to  think  that  the  "  Deacon  "  is  a  fictitious  char- 
acter. Nothing  of  the  kind.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest  farmers  in 
town,  and  lives  on  the  farm  next  to  me.  I  have  the  very  highest 
respect  for  him.  I  have  tried  to  report  him  fully  and  correctly. 
Of  my  own  share  in  the  conversations  I  will  say  little,  and  of  the 
Doctor's  nothing.  My  own  views  are  honestly  given.  I  hold  my- 
self responsible  for  them.  I  may  contradict  in  one  chapter  what  I 
have  asserted  in  another.  And  so,  probably,  has  the  Deacon.  I 
do  not  know  whether  this  is  or  is  not  the  case.  I  know  very  well 
that  on  many  questions  "much  can  be  said  on  both  sides  "—and 
very  likely  the  Deacon  is  sometimes  on  the  south  side  of  the  fence 
and  I  on  the  north  side ;  and  in  the  next  chapter  you  may  find  the 
Deacon  on  the  north  side,  and  where  would  you  have  me  go,  ex- 
cept to  the  south  side  ?  We  cannot  see  both  sides  of  the  fence,  if 
both  of  us  walk  on  the  same  side ! 

I  fear  some  will  be  disappointed  at  not  finding  a  particular  sub- 
ject discussed. 

I  have  talked  about  those  things  which  occupy  my  own  thoughts, 
XXI 


XXII  PREFACE   TO   FIRST   EDITION. 

There  are  some  things  not  worth  thinking  about.  There  are  others 
beyond  my  reach. 

I  have  said  nothing  about  manures  for  cotton  or  for  the  sugar- 
cane— not  because  I  feel  no  interest  in  the  matter,  but  because  I 
have  had  no  experience  in  the  cultivation  of  these  important  crops. 
I  might  have  told  what  the  crops  contain,  and  could  have  given 
minute  directions  for  furnishing  in  manure  the  exact  quantity  of 
plant-food  which  the  crops  remove  from  the  soil.  Bat  I  have  no 
faith  in  such  a  system  of  farming.  Tne  few  cotton-planters  I  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  were  men  of  education  and  rare  ability. 
I  cannot  undertake  to  offer  them  advice.  But  I  presume  they  will 
find  that,  if  they  desire  to  increase  the  growth  of  the  cotton-plant, 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  they  can  do  it,  provided  the  soil  is  properly 
worked,  by  supplying  a  manure  containing  available  nitrogen, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  potash.  But  the  proper  proportion  of  these 
ingredients  of  plant-food  must  be  ascertained  by  experiment,  and 
not  from  a  mere  analysis  of  the  cotton  plant. 

I  have  much  faith  in  artificial  manures.  They  will  do  great 
things  for  American  agriculture — directly,  and  indirectly.  Their 
general  use  will  lead  to  a  higher  system  of  farming — to  better  cul- 
tivation, more  root  and  fodder  crops,  improved  stock,  higher  feed- 
ing, and  richer  manure.  But  it  has  been  no  part  of  my  object  to 
unduly  extol  the  virtues  of  commercial  manures.  That  may  be  left 
to  the  manufacturers. 

My  sympathy  is  with  the  farmer,  and  especially  with  the  farmer 
of  moderate  means,  who  finds  that  improved  farming  calls  for 
more  and  more  capital.  I  would  like  to  encourage  such  a  man. 
And  so,  in  point  of  fact,  would  the  Deacon,  though  he  often  talks 
as  though  a  man  who  tries  to  improve  his  farm  ^ill  certainly  come 
to  poverty.  Such  men  as  the  Deacon  are  useful  neighbors  if  their 
doubts,  and  head-shakings,  and  shoulder-sh raggings  lead  a  young 
and  enthusiastic  farmer  to  put  more  energy,  industry,  and  economy 
into  his  business.  It  is  well  to  listen  to  the  Deacon — to  hear  all  his 
obior-tions,  and  then  to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  for  the  dangers  and 
difficulties,  and  go-ahead. 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


CHAPTER    L 
FARMING    AS    A    BUSINESS. 

"  Farming  is  a  poor  business,"  said  the  Deacon.  "  Take  the  corn 
crop.  Thirty  bushels  per  acre  is  a  fair  average,  worth,  at  75  cents 
per  bushel,  $33.50.  If  we  reckon  that,  for  each  bushel  of  corn,  we 
get  100  Ibs.  of  stalks,  this  would  be  a  ton  and  a  half  per  acre,  worth 
at  $5  per  ton  $7.50." 

Total  receipts  per  acre  for  corn  crop $30  00 

Expenses. — Preparing  the  land  for  the  crop $5  00 

Planting  and  seed 1  50 

Cultivating,  three  times,  twice  in  a  row  both 

ways 5  00 

Hoeing  twice 3  00 

Cutting  up  the  corn 1  50 

Husking  and  dra  wing  in  the  corn 4  00 

Drawing  in  the  stalks,  etc 1  00 

Shelling,  and  drawing  to  market 2  00 

Total  cost  of  the  crop 823  00 

Profit  per  acre $7  00 

"  And  from  this,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  we  have  to  deduct  interest 
on  land  and  taxes.  I  tell  you,  farming  is  a  poor  business." 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "poor  farming  is  a  very  poor  business.  But 
good  farming,  if  we  have  good  prices,  is  as  good  a  business  as  I 
want,  and  withal  as  pleasant.  A  good  farmer  raises  75  bushels 


10 


TALKS    OX    MAXtTEES. 


of  corn  per  acre,  instead  of  30.      He  would    get  for  his  crop, 

including  stalks $  <  5  00 

Expenses.— Preparing  land  for  the  crop $5  00 

Planting  and  seed 1  50 

Cultivating 5  CO 

Hoeing 3  CO 

Catting  up  the  corn 1  50 

Husking  and  drawing 10  00 

Drawing  in  the  stalks 3  00 

Shelling,  etc 6  00 

$35  00 


Profit  per  acre. 


$40  00 


Take  another  case,  which  actually  occurred  in  this  neighborhood. 
The  Judge  is  a  good  farmer,  and  particularly  successful  in  raising 
potatoes  and  selling  them  at  a  good  price  to  hotels  and  private 
families.  He  cultivates  very  thoroughly,  plants  in  hills,  and  puts 
a  handful  of  ashes,  plaster,  and  hen-manure,  on  the  hill. 

In  1873,  his  crop  of  Peachblows  was  at  the  rats  of  208  bushels 
per  acre.  Of  these,  200  bushels  were  sold  at  60  cents  per  bushel. 
There  were  8  bushels  of  small  potatoes,  worth  say  12J  cents  per 
bushel,  to  feed  out  to  stock. 

Mr.  Sloe,  who  lives  on  an  adjoining  farm,  had  three  acres  of 
Peachblow  potatoes  the  same  year.  The  yield  was  100  busliels  per 
acre — of  which  25  bushels  were  not  large  enough  for  market,  he 
got  50  cents  per  bushel  for  tbe  others. 

The  account  of  the  two  crops  stands  as  follows: 


Expenses  Per  Acre: 


Mr.Sloc^Judge. 


Plowing,  harrowing,  rolling,  marking,  plant- 
in0",  and  covering             .  .       .            .... 

$  8  00 

$  8  00 

Seed                    ... 

5  00 

5  00 

Hoein0"  cultivatrn°°,  etc 

7  00 

10  00 

Dia-orjjjir 

10  OJ 

10  00 

Receipts  Ikr  Acre: 
75  bushels,  (a)  50^       

30  00 
87  50 

33  00 

25       "         @12*c  

3  13 

200  bushels   (ff)  60c 

40  62 

120  00 

8       "         @13ic  

1  00 

Profit  per  acre  

810  6.3 

121  OJ 
WOO 

Since  then,  Mr.  Sloo  has  been  making  and  using  more  manure, 
and  the  year  before  last  (1875)  his  crop  of  potatoes  averaged  over 


FARMING    AS    A    BUSINESS.  11 

200  bushels  per  acre,  and  on  the  sandy  knolls,  where  more  manure 
was  applied,  t lie  yield  was  at  least  250  bushels  per  acre. 

"  Nevertheless,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  do  not  believe  in  '  high 
farming.'  It  will  not  pay." 

"  Possibly  not,"  I  replied.  "It  depends  on  circumstances;  and 
these  we  will  talk  about  presently.  High  farming  aims  to  get 
lar^e  crops  every  year.  Good  fanning  produces  equally  large  crops 
per  acre,  but  not  so  many  of  them.  Tais  is  what  I  am  trying  to 
do  on  my  own  farm.  I  am  aiming  to  get  35  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre,  80  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  50  bushels  of  barley,  00  bushels  of 
oats,  300  bushels  of  potatoes,  and  1,200  bushels  of  mangel-wurzel 
per  acre,  on  the  average.  I  can  see  no  way  of  paying  high  wages 
except  by  raising  large  crops  per  acre.  But  if  I  get  these  large 
crops  it  does-  not  necessarily  follow  that  I  am  practising  '  high, 
farming.'  " 

To  illustrate:  Suppose  I  should  succeed  in  getting  such  crops 
by  adopting  the  following  plan.  I  have  a  farm  of  nearly  300  acres, 
one  quarter  of  it  being  low,  alluvial  land,  too  wet  far  cultivation, 
but  when  drained  excellent  for  pasturing  cows  or  for  timothy 
meadows.  I  drain  this  land,  and  after  it  is  drained  I  dam  up  some 
of  the  streams  that  flow  into  it  or  through  it,  and  irrigate  wherever 
I  can  make  the  water  flow.  So  much  for  the  low  land. 

The  upland  portion  of  the  farm,  containing  say  200  acres,  ex- 
clusive of  fences,  roads,  buildings,  garden,  etc.,  is  a  naturally  fertile 
loam,  as  good  as  the  average  wheat  land  of  Western  New  York. 
But  it  is,  or  was,  badly  "  run  down."  It  had  been  what  people  call 
"  worked  to  death ; "  although,  in  point  of  fact,  it  had  not  been 
half-worked.  'Some  said,  it  was  "  wheated  to  death,"  others  that  it 
had  been  "  oated  to  death,"  others  that  it  had  been  "  grassed  to 
death,"  and  one  man  said  to  me,  "  That  field  has  had  sheep  on  it 
until  they  have  gnawed  every  particle  of  vegetable  matter  out  of 
the  soil,  and  it  will  not  now  produce  enough  to  pasture  a  flock  of 
geese,"  And  he  was  not  far  from  right — notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  sheep  are  thought  to  be,  and  are,  the  best  animals  to  enrich 
land.  But  let  me  say,  in  passing,  that  I  have  since  raised  on  that 
same  field  50  bushels  of  barley  per  acre,  33  bushels  of  Diehl  wheat, 
a  great  crop  of  clover,  and  last  year,  on  a  part  of  it,  over  1,000 
bushels  of  mangel-wurzel  per  acre. 

But  this  is  a  digression.  Le'j  us  carry  out  the  illustration.  What 
does  this  upland  portion  of  the  farm  need  ?  It  needs  underclrain- 
ing,  thorough  cultivation,  and  plenty  of  manure.  If  I  had  plenty 
of  manure,  I  could  adopt  high  farming.  But  where  am  I  to  get 
plenty  of  manure  for  200  acres  of  land  ?  "  Make  it,"  says  the 


12  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

Deicon.  Very  good ;  but  what  snail  I  make  it  of  ?  "  Make  it  out 
of  your  straw  and  stalks  and  hay."  So  I  do,  but  all  the  straw  and 
stalks  and  hay  raised  on  the  farm  when  I  bought  it  would  not 
make  as  much  manure  as  "  higli  farming"  requires  for  five  acres 
of  land.  And  is  this  not  true  of  half  the  farms  in  the  United 
States  to  day  ?  What  then,  shall  we  do  ? 

The  best  thing  to  do,  theoretically,  is  this  :  Any  land  that  is  pro- 
ducing a  fair  crop  of  grass  or  clover,  let  it  lie.  Pasture  it  or  mow 
it  for  hay.  If  you  have  a  field  of  clayey  or  stiff  loamy  land,  break 
it  up  in  the  fall,  and  summer-fallow  it  the  next  year,  and  sow  it  to 
wheat  and  seed  it  down  with  clover.  Let  it  lie  two  or  three  years 
in  clover.  Then  break  it  up  in  July  or  August,  "  fall-fallow  "  it, 
an.l-sow  it  with  barley  the  next  spring,  and  seed  it  down  again 
with  clover. 

Sandy  or  light  land,  that  it  will  not  pay  to  summer-fallow, 
should  have  all  the  manure  you  can  make,  and  be  plowed  and 
plautsd  with  corn.  Cultivate  thoroughly,  and  either  seed  it  down 
with  the  corn  in  August,  or  sow  it  to  barley  or  oats  next  spring, 
and  ssed  it  down  with  clover.  I  say,  theoretically  this  is  the  best 
plan  to  adopt.  But  practically  it  may  not  be  so,  because  it  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  that  we  should  raise  something  that  we  can 
S2ll  at  once,  and  get  money  to  live  upon  or  pay  interest  and  taxes. 
But  the  gentlemen  who  so  strenuously  advocate  high  farming,  are 
not  perhaps  often  troubled  with  considerations  of  this  kind.  Meet- 
ing them,  therefore,  on  their  own  ground,  I  contend  that  in  my 
case  "  high  farming"  would  not  be  as  profitable  as  the  plan  hinted 
at  above. 

The  rich  alluvial  low  land  is  to  be  pastured  or  mown ;  the  upland 
to  be  broken  up  only'  when  necessary,  and  when  it  is  plowed  to  be 
plowed  well  and  worked  thoroughly,  and  got  back  again  into 
clover  as  soon  as  possible.  The  hay  and  pasture  from  the  low 
land,  and  ths  clover  and  straw  and  stalks  from  the  upland,  would 
enable  us  to  keep  a  good  many  cows  and  sheep,  with  more  or  less 
pigs,  and  there  would  be  a  big  pile  of  manure  in  the  yard  every 
spring.  And  when  this  is  once  obtained,  you  can  get  along  much 
more  pleasantly  and  profitably. 


"  But,"  I  may  be  asked,  "  when  you  have  got  this  pile  of  manure 
can  not  you  adopt  high  farming  ?  "  No.  My  manure  pile  would 
contain  say  :  60  tons  of  clover-hay ;  20  tons  wheat-straw ;  25  tona 
oat,  birley,  and  pea-straw;  40  tons  meadow-hay;  20  tons  corn- 
stillis ;  20  tons  corn,  oats,  and  other  grain ;  120  tons  mangel-wurzel 
and  turnips. 


FARMING    AS    A   BUSINESS.  13 

Th'u  wcifd  give  me  about  500  tons  of  well-rotted  manure.  1 
should  want  200  tons  of  tills  for  the  mangels  and  turnips,  and  the 
300  tons  I  should  want  to  top-dress  20  acres  of  grass  land  intended 
for  corn  and  potatoes  the  next  year.  My  pile  of  manure,  there- 
fore, is  all  ussd  up  on  25  to  30  acres  of  land.  In  other  words,  I  use 
the  unsold  produce  of  10  acres  to  manure  one.  Is  this  "  high 
farming  ?  "  I  think  in  my  circumstances  it  is  good  firming,  but  it 
is  not  high  farming.  It  gives  me  large  crops  per  acre,  but  I  have 
comparatively  few  acres  in  crops  that  are  sold  from  the  farm. 

"  High  farming,"  if  the  term  is  to  have  any  definite  meaning  at 
all,  should  only  be  used  to  express  the  idea  of  a  farm  so  managed 
that  the  soil  is  rich  enough  to  produce  maximum  crops  every  year. 
If  you  adopt  the  system  of  rotation  quite  general  in  this  section — 
say,  1st  year,  co:n  on  sod;  3d,  barley  or  oats;  3d,  wheat;  4th, 
clover  for  hay  and  afterwards  for  seed ;  5th,  timothy  and  clover 
for  hay ;  and  then  the  6th  year  plowed  up  for  corn  again — it  would 
be,  necessary  to  make  the  land  rich  enough  to  produce  say  100 
bushels  shelled  corn,  50  bushels  of  barley,  40  bushels  of  wheat,  3 
tons  clover  hay,  and  5  bushels  of  clover-seed,  and  3  tons  clover  and 
timothy-hay  per  acre.  This  would  be  moderate  high  farming.  If 
we  introduced  lucern,  Italian  rye-grass,  corn-fodder,  and  mangel- 
wurzel  into  the  rotation,  we  should  need  still  richer  land  to  produce 
a  maximum  growth  of  these  crops.  In  other  words,  we  should 
need  more  manure. 

The  point  I  am  endeavoring  to  get  at,  is  this :  Where  you  want 
a  farm  to  be  self-supporting — where  you  depend  solely  on  the  pro- 
duce of  the  farm  to  supply  manure — it  is  a  sheer  impossibility  to 
adopt  high  farming  on  the  whole  of  your  land.  I  want  to  raise  just 
as  large  crops  per  acre  as  the  high  farmers,  but  there  is  no  way  of 
doing  this,  unless  we  go  outside  the  farm  for  manure,  without 
raising  a  smaller  area  of  such  crops  as  are  sold  from  the  farm. 

I  do  not  wish  any  one  to  suppose  that  I  am  opposed  to  high  farm- 
ing. There  is  occasionally  a  farm  where  it  may  be  practisscl  with 
advantage,  but  it  seems  perfectly  clear  to  my  mind  that  as  long  cs 
there  is  such  an  unlimited  supply  of  land,  and  such  a  limited  sup- 
ply of  fertilizers,  most  of  us  will  find  it  more  profitable  to  develop 
the  latent  stores  of  plant-food  lying  dormant  in  the  soil  rather  than 
to  buy  manures,  And  it  is  ceriain  that  you  can  not  adopt  high 
farming  without  either  buying  manure  directly,  or  buying  food  to 
feed  to  animals  that  shall  make  manure  on  the  farm. 

And  you  must  recollect  that  high  farming  requires  an  increased 


14  TALKS    ON   MAXUBES. 

supply  of  labor,  and  hired  help  is  a  luxury  almost  as  costly  as 
arciuciul  fertilizers. 

We  have  heard  superficial  thinkers  object  to  agricultural  papers 
oa  the  ground  that  they  were  urging  farmers  to  improve  their  land 
and  produce  larger  crops,  "while,"  say  they,  u  we  are  producing  so 
much  already  that  it  will  not  sell  for  as  much  as  it  costs  to  produce 
it."  My  plan  of  improved  agriculture  does  not  necessarily  imply 
the  production  of  any  more  wheat  or  of  any  more  grain  of  any 
Mud  that  we  sell  than  we  raise  at  present.  I  would  simply  raise 
it  on  fewer  acres,  and  thus  lessen  the  expense  for  seed,  cultivation, 
harvesting,  etc.  I  would  raise  80  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  every 
third  year,  instead  of  10  bushels  every  year. 

If  we  summer-fallowed  and  plowed  under  clover  in  order  to  pro- 
duce the  80  bushels  of  wheat  once  in  three  years,  instead  of  10 
bushels  every  year,  no  more  produce  of  any  kind  would  be  raised. 
But  my  plan  does  not  contemplate  such  a  result.  On  my  own 
farm  I  seldom  summer-fallow,  and  never  plow  under  clover.  I 
think  I  can  enrich  the  farm  nearly  as  much  by  feeding  the  clover 
to  animals  and  returning  the  manure  to  the  land.  The  animals  do 
not  take  out  moro  than  from  five  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  more  valu- 
able elements  of  plant-food  from  the  clover.  And  so  my  plan, 
while  it  produces  as  much  and  no  more  grain  to  sell,  adds  greatly 
to  the  fertility  of  the  land,  and  gives  an  increased  production  of 
beef,  mutton,  wool,  butter,  cheese,  and  pork. 

"  But  what  is  a  man  to  do  who  is  poor  and  has  poor  land  ?  "  If 
he  has  good  health,  is  industrious,  economical,  and  is  possessed  of 
a  fair  share  of  good  common  sense,  he  need  have  no  doubt  as  to 
being  able  to  renovate  his  farm  and  improve  his  own  fortune. 

Faith  in  good  farming  is  the  first  requisite.  If  this  is  weak,  it 
will  be  strengthened  by  exercise.  If  you  have  not  faith,  act  as 
though  you  had. 

"Work  hard,  but  do  not  be  a  drudge.  A  few  hours'  vigorous  labor 
will  accomplish  a  great  deal,  and  encourage  you  to  continued  effort. 
Be  prompt,  systematic,  cheerful,  and  enthusiastic.  Go  to  bed  early 
and  get  up  when  you  wake.  But  take  sleep  enough.  A  man  had 
better  be  in  bed  than  at  the  tavern  or  grocery.  Let  not  friends, 
even,  keep  you  up  late  ;  "manners  is  manners,  but  still  your  elth's 
your  elth." 

"  But  what  has  this  to  do  with  good  farming  ?  "  More  than 
chemistry  and  all  the  science  of  the  schools.  Agriculture  is  an  art 
and  must  be  followed  as  such.  Science  will  help — help  enormously 
—but  it  will  never  enable  us  to  dispense  with  industry.  Chemistry 


FARMING    AS    A    BUSINESS.  15 

throws  great  light  on  the  art  of  cooking,  but  a  farmer's  wife  will 
roast  a  turkey  better  than  a  Liebig. 

When  Mr.  James  O.  Sheldon,  of  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  bought  his  farm, 
his  entire  crop  of  hay  the  first  year  was  76  loads.  He  kept  stock, 
and  bought  more  or  less  grain  and  bran,  and  in  eleven  years  from 
that  time  his  farm  produced  430  loads  of  hay,  afforded  pasture  for 
his  large  herd  of  Shorthorn  cattle,  and  produced  quite  as  much 
grain  as  when  he  first  took  it. 

Except  in  the  neighborhood  of  large  cities,  "high  farming"  may 
not  pay,  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  have  so  much  land.  But  whether 
this  is  so  or  not,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  only  profitable 
system  of  farming  is  to  raise  large  crops  on  such  land  as  we  culti- 
vate. High  farming  gives  us  large  crops,  and  many  of  tliem.  At 
present,  while  we  have  so  much  land  in  proportion  to  population, 
we  must,  perhaps,  be  content  with  large  crops  of  grain,  and  few  of 
them.  We  must  adopt  the  slower  but  less  expensive  means  of 
enriching  our  land  from  natural  sources,  rather  than  the  quicker, 
more  artificial,  and  costly  means  adopted  by  many  farmers  in 
England,  and  by  market  gardeners,  seed-growers,  and  nurserymen 
in  this  country.  Labor  is  so  high  that  we  can  not  afford  to  raise  a 
small  crop.  If  we  sow  but  half  the  number  of  acres,  and  double 
the  yield,  we  should  quadruple  our  profits.  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  let  the  land  lie  in  clover  three  years,  instead  of  two.  This 
will  lessen  the  number  of  acres  under  cultivation,  and  enable  us  to 
bestow  more  care  in  plowing  and  cleaning  it.  And  the  land  will 
be  richer,  and  produce  better  crops.  The  atmosphere  is  capable 
of  supplying  a  certain  quantity  of  ammonia  to  the  soil  in  rains  and 
dews  every  year,  and  by  giving  the  wheat  crop  a  three  years  sup- 
ply instead  of  two  years,  we  gain  so  much.  Plaster  the  clover, 
top-dress  it  in  the  fall,  if  you  have  the  manure,  and  stimulate  its 
growth  in  every  way  possible,  and  consume  all  the  clover  on  tho 
land,  or  in  the  barn-yard.  Do  not  sell  a  single  ton  ;  let  not  a  weed 
grow,  and  the  land  will  certainly  improve. 

The  first  object  should  be  to  destroy  weeds.  I  do  not  know  how 
it  is  in  other  sections,  but  with  us  the  majority  of  farms  are  com- 
pletely overrun  with  weeds.  They  are  eating  out  the  life  of  the 
land,  and  if  something  is  not  done  to  destroy  them,  even  exorbitant- 
ly high  prices  can  not  make  farming  profitable.  A  farmer  yester- 
day was  contending  that  it  did  not  pay  to  summer-fallow.  He 
has  taken  a  run-down  farm,  and  a  year  ago  last  spring  he  plowed 
up  ten  acres  of  a  field,  and  sowed  it  to  barley  and  oats.  The  re- 
mainder of  Lhe  field  he  summer-fallowed,  plowing  it  four  times, 
and  rolling  and  harrowing  thoroughly  after  each  plowing.  After 


16  TALKS    OX   MANUKES. 

the  barley  and  oats  were  off,  be  plowed  the  land  once,  harrowed  it, 
and  sowed  Mediterranean  wheat.  On  the  summer-fallow  he 
drilled  in  Diehl  wheat.  He  has  just  threshed,  and  got  22  bushels 
per  acre  of  Mediterranean  wheat  after  the  spring  crop,  at  one 
plowing,  and  26  bushels  per  acre  of  Diehl  wheat  on  the  summer- 
fallow.  This,  he  said,  would  not  pay,  as  it  cost  him  $30  per  acre 
to  summer-fallow,  and  he  lost  the  use  of  the  land  for  one  season. 
Now  this  may  be  all  true,  and  yet  it  is  no  argument  against  sum- 
mer-fallowing. Wait  a  few  years.  Farming  is  slow  work.  Mr. 
George  Geddes  remarked  to  me,  when  1  told  him  I  was  trying  to 
renovate  a  run-down  farm,  "you  will  find  it  the  work  of  ycur 
life."  We  ought  not  to  expect  a  big  crop  on  poor,  run-down  land, 
simply  by  plowing  it  three  or  four  times  in  as  many  months.  Time 
is  required  for  tho  chemical  changes  to  take  place  in  the  soil.  But 
watch  the  effect  on  the  clover  for  the  next  two  years,  and  when 
the  land  is  plowed  again,  see  if  it  is  not  in  far  better  condition  than 
the  part  not  summer-fallowed.  I  should  expect  the  clover  on  the 
summer-fallow  to  be  fully  one-third  better  in  quantity,  and  of  bet- 
ter quality  than  on  the  other  part,  and  this  extra  quantity  of  clover 
will  make  an  extra  quantity  of  rood  manure,  and  thus  we  have  the 
means  of  going  on  with  the  work  of  improving  the  farm. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  an:l  there  will  also  be  more  clever- 
roots  in  the  SDil." 

"  But  I  can  not  afford  to  waittor  clover,  and  summer-fallowing," 
writes  an  intelligent  New  York  gentleman,  a  dear  lover  of  good 
stock,  who  has  bought  an  exhausted  New  England  farm,  "  1  must 
have  a  portion  of  it  producing  good  crops  right  off."  Very  well. 
A  farmer  with  plenty  of  money  can  do  wonders  in  a  short  time. 
Set  a  gang  of  ditchers  to  work,  and  put  in  underdrains  where  most 
needed.  Have  teams  and  plows  enough  to  do  the  work  rapklly. 
As  soon  as  the  land  is  drained  and  plowed,  put  on  a  heavy  roller. 
Then  sow  500  Ibs.  of  Peruvhn  guano  per  acre  broadcast,  or  its 
equivalent  in  some  other  fertilizer.  Follow  with  a  Shares'  harrow. 
This  will  mellow  the  surface  and  cover  the  guano  without  dis- 
turbing the  sod.  Follow  with  a  forty-toothed  harrow,  and  roll 
again,  if  needed,  working  the  land  until  there  is  three  or  four 
inches  of  fine,  mellow  surface  soil.  Then  mark  off  the  land  in 
rows  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  plant  corn.  Cultivate  thoroughly, 
and  kill  every  weed.  If  tho  ditchers  can  not  get  through  until  it 
is  too  late  to  plant  corn,  drill  in  beans  on  the  last  drained  part  of 
the  field. 

Another  good  crop  to  rais?  on  a  stock  farm  is  corn-fodder. 
This  can  be  drilled  i-i  from  time  to  time  as  the  land  car,  bo  got 


FARMING   AS   A    BUSINESS.  17 

ready.  Pat  on  half  a  ton  of  guano  per  acre  and  harrow  in ,  and 
then  mark  off  the  rows  three  feet  apart,  and  drill  in  four  LusLcls 
of  corn  per  acre.  Cultivate  thoroughly,  and  expect  a  great  crop. 
By  the  last  of  July,  the  Ayrshire  cows  will  take  kindly  to  the  suc- 
culent corn-fodder,  and  with  three  or  four  quarts  of  meal  a  day, 
it  will  enable  each  of  them  to  make  10  Ibs.  of  butttr  a  week. 

For  the  pigs,  sow  a  few  acres  of  peas.  These  will  do  well  on 
sod-land,  sown  early  or  late,  or  a  part  early  and  a  part  late,  as 
most  convenient.  Sow  broadcast  and  harrow  in,  500  Ibs.  of  Pe- 
ruvian guano  per  acre  and  200  Ibs.  of  gypsum.  Drill  in  three 
bushels  of  peas  per  acre,  or  sow  broadcast,  and  cover  them  with  a 
Shares'  harrow.  Commence  to  feed  the  crop  green  as  soon  as  the 
pods  are  formed,  and  continu  3  to  feed  out  the  crop,  threshed  or 
unthreshed,  until  the  middle  of  November.  Up  to  this  lime  the 
bugs  do  comparatively  little  damage.  The  pigs  will  thrive  won- 
derfully on  this  crop,  and  make  the  richest  and  best  of  manure. 

I  have  little  faith  in  *ay  attempt  to  raise  root  crops  on  land  not 
previously  well  prepared.  But  as  it  is  necessary  to  have  some 
mangel-wurzel  and  Swede  turnips  for  the  Ayrshire  cows  and 
long-wool  sheep  next  winter  and  spring,  select  the  cleanest  and 
richest  land  that  can  be  found  that  was  under  cultivation  last 
season.  If  fall  plowed,  the  chances  of  success  will  be  doubled. 
Plow  the  land  two  or  three  times,  and  cultivate,  harrow,  and  roll 
until  it  is  as  mellow  as  a  garden.  Sow  400  Ibs.  of  Peruvian  guano 
and  000  Ibs.  of  good  superphosphate  per  acre  broadcast,  and  har- 
row them  in.  Riclge  up  the  land  into  ridges  2$  to  3  ft.  apart,  with 
a  double  mould-board  plow.  Roll  down  the  ridges  with  a  light 
roller,  and  drill  in  the  seed.  Sow  the  mangel-wurzel  in  May— the 
earlier  the  better — and  the  Swedes  as  soon  afterwards  as  the  land 
can  be  thoroughly  prepared.  Better  delay  until  June  rather  than 
feow  on  rough  land. 

The  first  point  on  such  a  farm  will  be  to  attend  to  the  grass  land. 
This  affords  the  most  hopeful  chance  of  getting  good  returns  the 
first  year.  But  no  time  is  to  be  lost.  Sow  500  Ibs.  of  Peruvian 
guano  per  acre  on  all  the  grass  land  and  on  the  clover,  with  200 
Ibs.  of  gypsum  in  addition  on  the  latter.  If  this  is  sown  early 
enough,  so  that  the  spring  rains  dissolve  it  and  wash  it  into  the 
soil,  great  crops  of  grass  may  be  expected. 

"  But  will  it  pay  ?  "  My  friend  in  New  York  is  a  very  energetic 
and  successful  business  man,  and  he  has  a  real  love  for  far  nun  g, 
and  I  have  no  sort  of  doubt  that,  taking  the  New  York  business 
and  the  farm  together,  they  will  afford  a  very  handsome  profit. 
Furthermore,  I  have  no  doubt  that  if,  after  he  has  dr-ined  it,  he 


18  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

would  cover  the  whole  farm  with  500  Ibs.  of  Peruvian  guano  per 
acre,  or  its  equivalent,  it  would  pay  him  better  than  any  other 
agricultural  operation  he  is  likely  to  engage  in.  By  the  time  it 
was  on  the  land  the  cost  would  amount  to  about  $20  per  acre.  If 
he  sells  no  more  grass  or  hay  from  the  farm  than  he  would  sell  if 
he  did  not  use  the  guano,  this  $20  may  very  properly  be  added  to 
the  permanent  capital  invested  in  the  farm.  And  in  this  aspect  of 
the  case,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  it  will  pay  a  high  rate  ot 
interest.  His  bill  for  labor  will  be  as  much  in  one  case  as  in  the 
other ;  and  if  he  uses  the  guano  he  will  probably  double  his  crops. 
His  grass  lands  will  carry  twenty  cows  instead  of  ten,  and  if  he 
raises  the  corn-fodder  and  roots,  he  can  probably  keep  thirty  cows 
better  than  he  could  otherwise  keep  a  dozen ;  and,  having  to  keep 
a  herdsman  in  either  case,  tli3  cost  of  labor  will  not  bs  much  in- 
creased. "  But  you  think  it  will  not  pay  ?  "  It  will  probably  not 
pay  him.  I  do  not  think  h'.s  business  would  pay  me  if  I  lived  on 
my  farm,  and  went  to  New  York  only  once  or  twice  a  week.  If 
there  is  one  business  above  all  others  that  requires  constant  atten- 
tion, it  is  farming — and  especially  stock- farming.  But  my  friend 
is  right  in  saying  that  he  cannot  afford  to  wait  to  enrich  his  land 
by  clover  and  summer-fallowing.  His  land  costs  too  much ;  he 
has  a  large  barn  and  everything  requisite  to  keep  a  large  stock  of 
cattle  and  sheep.  The  interest  on  farm  and  buildings,  and  the 
money  expended  in  labor,  would  run  on  while  the  dormant  matter 
in  the  soil  was  slowly  becoming  available  under  the  influence  of 
good  tillige.  The  large  barn  must  be  filled  at  once,  and  the  only 
way  to  do  this  is  to  apply  manure  with  an  unsparing  hand.  If  he 
lived  on  the  farm,  I  should  have  no  doubt  that,  by  adopting  this 
course,  and  by  keeping  improved  stock,  and  feeding  liberally,  he 
could  make  money.  Perhaps  he  can  find  a  man  who  will  success- 
fully manage  the  farm  under  his  direction,  but  the  probabilities 
are  that  his  present  profit  and  pleasure  will  come  from  the  grat- 
ification of  his  early  love  for  country  life. 


\VHAT   IS    MANU11E?  19 

CHAPTER     II. 
WHAT    IS   MANURE? 

"  What  is  the  good  of  asking  such  a  question  as  that  ?  "  said  the 
Deacon  ;  "  we  all  know  what  manure  is." 

"  Well,  then,"  I  replied,  "  tell  us  what  it  is?" 

"  It  is  anything  that  will  make  crops  grow  better  and  bigger"  re- 
plied the  Deacon. 

"  That  is  not  a  bad  definition,"  said  I ;  "  but  let  us  see  if  it  is  a 
true  one.  You  have  two  rows  of  cabbage  in  the  garden,  and  you 
water  one  row,  and  the  plants  grow  bigger  and  better.  Is  water 
manure  ?  You  cover  a  plant  with  a  hand-glass,  and  it  grows  big- 
ger and  better.  Is  a  hand-glass  manure  ?  You  shelter  a  few 
plants,  and  they  grow  bigger  and  better.  Is  shelter  manure  ? 
You  put  some  pure  sand  round  a  few  plants,  and  they  grow  big- 
ger and  better.  Is  pure  sand  manure  ?  I  think  we  shall  hare  to 
reject  the  Deacon's  definition." 

Let  us  hear  what  the  Doctor  has  to  say  on  the  subject. 

"  Manure,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "  is  the  food  of  plants" 

"  That  is  a  better  definition,"  said  I ;  "  but  this  is  really  not 
answering  the  question.  You  say  manure  is  plant-food.  Bui 
what  is  plant-food  ?" 

"  Plant-food,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  composed  of  twelve  ele- 
ments, and,  possibly,  sometimes  one  or  two  more,  which  we  need 
not  here  talk  about.  Four  of  these  elements  are  gases,  oxygen, 
hydrogen,  carbon,  and  nitrogen.  When  a  plant  or  animal  is 
burnt,  these  gases  are  driven  off.  The  ashes  which  remain  are 
composed  of  potash,  soda,  lime,  and  magnesia;  sulphuric  acid, 
phosphoric  acid,  chlorine,  and  silica.  In  other  words,  the  '  food 
of  plants '  is  composed  of  four  organic,  or  gaseous  elements,  and 
eight  inorganic,  or  mineral  elements,  of  which  four  have  acid  and 
four  alkaline  properties." 

"  Thank  yon,  Doctor,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  am  glad  to  know 
what  manure  is.  It  is  the  food  of  plants,  and  the  food  of  plants 
is  composed  of  four  gases,  four  acid  and  four  alkaline  elements. 
I  seem  to  know  all  about  it.  All  I  have  wanted  to  make  my  land 
rich  was  plenty  of  manure,  and  now  I  shall  know  where  to  get 
it — oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and  nitrogen  ;  these  four  atmos- 
pheric elements.  Then  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  and  lime.  I 
know  what  these  four  are.  Then  sulphur,  phosphorous,  silica 


/?Q  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

(sand,)  and  chlorine  (salt).  I  shall  soon  have  rich  land  and  big 
crops." 

Charley,  who  has  recently  come  home  from  college,  where  he 
has  been  studying  chemistry,  looked  at  the  Deacon,  and  was  evi- 
dently puzzled  to  understand  him.  Turning  to  the  Doctor,  Char- 
ley asked  modestly  if  what  the  Doctor  had  said  in  regard  to  the 
composition  of  plant  food  could  not  be  said  of  the  composition  of 
all  our  animals  and  plants. 

"Certainly,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "all  our  agricultural  plants 
and  all  our  animals,  man  included,  are  composed  of  these  twelve 
elements,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and  nitrogen ;  phosphorus, 
sulphur,  silica,  chlorine,  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  and  lime." 

Charley  said  something  about  lime,  potash,  and  soda,  not  being 
"  elements ;"  and  something  about  silica  and  chlorine  not  being 
found  in  animals. 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  and  he  has  left  out  iron,  which  is  an  important 
constituent  of  all  our  farm  crops  and  animals."  Neither  the  Doc- 
tor nor  the  Deacon  heard  our  remarks.  The  Deacon,  who  loves 
an  argument,  exclaimed :  "  I  thought  I  knew  all  about  it.  Yoa 
told  us  that  manure  was  the  food  of  plants,  and  that  the  foocl  of 
plants  was  composed  of  the  above  twelve  elements ;  and  now  you 
tell  us  that  man  and  beast,  fruit  and  flower,  grain  and  grass,  root, 
stem,  and  branch,  all  are  composed  or  made  up  of  these  same 
dozen  elements.  If  I  ask  you  what  bread  is  made  of,  you  say  it 
is  composed  of  the  dozen  elements  aforesaid.  If  I  ask  what  wheat- 
straw  is  made  of,  you  answer,  the  dozen.  If  I  ask  what  a  thistle  is 
made  of,  you  say  the  dozen.  There  are  a  good  many  milk-weeds 
in  my  strawberry  patch,  and  I  am  glad  to  know  that  the  milk-weed 
and  the  strawberry  are  both  Composed  of  the  same  dozen  elements. 
Manure  is  the  food  of  plants,  and  the  food  of  plants  is  composed 
of  the  above  dozen  elements,  and  every  plant  and  animal  that  we 
eat  is  also  composed  of  these  same  dozen  elements,  and  so  I  sup- 
pose there  is  no  difference  between  an  onion  and  an  omelet,  or 
between  bread  and  milk,  or  between  mangel-wurzel  and  manure." 

"The  difference,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "is  one  of  proportion. 
Mangels  and  manure  are  both  composed  of  the  same  elements.  In 
fact,  mangels  make  good  manure,  and  good  manure  makes  good 
mangels." 

The  Deacon  and  the  Doctor  sat  down  to  a  game  of  backgam- 
mon, and  Charley  and  I  continued  the  conversation  more  seriously. 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   PLANT-FOOD.  21 

CHAPTER     III. 
SOMETHING   ABOUT    PLANT-FOOD. 

"  The  Doctor  is  in  the  main  correct,"  said  I;  "  but  he  does  not 
fully  answer  the  question, '  What  is  manure  ? '  To  say  tnat  manure 
is  plant-food,  does  not  cover  the  whole  ground.  All  soils  on  which 
plants  grow,  contain  more  or  less  plant-food.  A  plant  can  not 
create  an  atom  of  potash.  It  can  not  get  it  from  the  atmosphere- 
We  find  potash  in  the  plant,  and  wo  know  that  it  got  it  from  the 
soil,  and  we  are  certain,  therefore,  that  the  soil  contains  potash. 
A:ul  so  of  all  the  other  mineral  elements  of  plants.  A  soil  that 
will  produce  a  thistle,  or  a  pig-weed,  contains  plant-food.  And  so 
the  definition  of  the  Doctor  is  defective,  inasmuch  as  it  makes  no 
distinction  between  soil  and  manuro.  Both  contain  plant-food." 

"  What  is  your  definition  of  manure  ?  "  asked  Charley ;  "  it 
would  seem  as  though  we  all  knew  what  manure  was.  We  have 
got  a  great  heap  of  it  in  the  yard,  and  it  is  fermenting  nicely." 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  we  are  making  more  manure  on  the  farm  this 
winter  than  ever  bafore.  Two  hundred  pi^s,  120  large  sheep,  8 
horses,  11  cows,  and  a  hundred  head  of  poultry  make  considerable 
manure  ;  and  it  is  a  good  deal  of  work  to  clean  out  the  pens,  pile  the 
manure,  draw  it  to  the  field,  and  apply  it  to  the  crops.  We  ought 
to  know  something  about  it ;  but  we  might  work  among  manure 
all  our  lives,  and  not  know  what  manure  is.  At  any  rate,  we 
might  not,  be  able  to  define  it  accurately.  I  will,  however,  try  my 
hand  at  a  definition. 

"  Let  us  assume  that  we  have  a  field  that  is  free  from  stagnant 
water  at  all  seasons  of  the  year ;  that  the  soil  is  clean,  mellow, 
and  well  worked  seven  inches  deep,  and  in  good  order  for  putting 
in  a  crop.  What  the  coming  'season*  will  bo  we  know  not.  It 
may  be  what  we  call  a  hot,  dry  summer,  or  it  may  be  cool  and 
moist,  or  it  may  be  partly  one  and  partly  the  other.  Tho  '  season ' 
is  a  great  element  of  uncertainty  in  all  our  farming  calculations; 
but  we  know  that  we  shall  have  a  season  of  some  kind.  We  have 
the  promise  of  S33d-time  and  harvest,  and  we  have  never  known 
the  promise  to  fail  us.  Crops,  however,  vary  very  much,  accord- 
ing to  the  season  ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  bear  this  fact  in  mind. 
Let  us  say  that  the  sun  and  heat,  and  rain  and  clews,  or  what  we 
call '  the  season,'  is  capable  of  producing  50  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre,  but  that  the  soil  I  have  described  above,  docs  not  produce 
over  20  bushels  per  acre.  There  is  no  mechanical  defect  in  the 
soil.  The  seed  is  good,  it  is  put  in  properly,  and  at  the  right  time, 


22  TALKS    OX   MANURES. 

and  in  the  best  manner.  No  weeds  choke  the  wheat  plants  or  rob 
them  of  their  food ;  but  that  field  does  not  produce  as  much  wheat 
by  30  bushels  per  acre  as  the  season  is  capable  of  producing. 
Why?  The  answer  is  evident.  Because  tlie  wheat  plants  do  not 
find  food  enough  in  tJie  so'.l.  Now,  anything  that  will  furnish 
this  food,  anything  that  will  cause  that  field  to  produce  what  the 
climate  or  season  is  capable  of  producing,  is  manure.  A  gardener 
may  increase  his  crops  by  artificial  heat,  or  by  an  increased  supply 
of  water,  but  this  is  not  manure.  The  effect  is  due  to  improved 
climatic  conditions.  It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  of 
manure.  We  often  read  in  the  agricultural  papers  about '  shads 
as  manure.'  We  might  just  as  well  talk  about  sunlight  as  '  ma- 
nure.' The  effects  observed  should  be -referred  to  modifications  of 
the  climate  or  season;  and  so  in  regard  to  mulching.  A  good 
mulch  may  often  produce  a  larger  increase  of  growth  than  an  ap- 
plication of  manure.  But  mulch,  proper,  is  not  manure.  It  is 
climate.  It  checks  evaporation  of  moisture  from  the  soil.  We 
might  as  well  speak  of  rain  as  manure  as  to  call  a  mulch  mjimire. 
In  fact,  an  ordinary  shower  in  summer  is  little  more  than  a  mulch. 
It  does  not  reach  the  roots  of  plants ;  and  yet  we  see  the  effect 
of  the  shower  immediately  in  tho  increased  vijor  of  the  plan!  3. 
They  are  full  of  sap,  and  the  drooping  leaves  look  refreshed.  We 
say  the  rain  has  revived  them,  and  so  it  has  ;  but  probably  not  a 
particle  of  the  rain  has  entered  into  the  circulation  of  the  plant. 
The  rain  checked  evaporation,  from  the  soil  and  from  the  leaves. 
A  cool  night  refreshes  the  plants,  and  fills  the  loaves  with  sap,  pre- 
cisely in  the  same  way.  All  these  fertilizing  effbcts,  however, 
belong  to  climate.  It  is  inaccurate  to  associate  either  mulching, 
sunshine,  shade,  heat,  dews,  or  rain,  with  the  question  of  manure, 
though  the  effect  may  in  certain  circumstances  be  precisely  the 
same." 

Charley  evidently  thought  I  was  wandering  from  the  point.  "  You 
think,  then,"  said  he,  "  manure  is  plant-food  that  the  so'l  needs?" 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  that  is  a  very  good  cbfinition — very  goo  1, 
indeed,  though  not  absolutely  accurate,  because  manure  is  manure, 
whether  a  particular  soil  needs  it  or  not."  Unobserved  by  us,  tho 
Deacon  and  the  Doctor  had  been  listening  to  our  talk. — "I  would 
like,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  hear  you  give  a  better  definition  than 
Charley  has  given." — "M  inure,"  said  I,  "  is  anything  containing 
an  element  or  elements  of  plant-food,  which,  if  the  soil  needed  it, 
would,  if  supplied  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  in  an  available  con- 
dition, produce,  according  to  soil,  season,  climate,  and  variety,  a 
maximum  crop." 


NATURAL    MANUEE.  23 

CHAPTER     IV. 
NATURAL   MANURE. 

We  often  hear  about  "natural"  manuro.  I  do  not  like  the 
term,  though  I  believe  it  originated  with  me.  It  is  not  accurate  ; 
not  definite  enough. 

"  I  do  not  know  what  you  mean  by  natural  manure,"  said  the 
Deacon,  "  unless  it  is  the  droppings  of  animals." — "  To  distinguish 
them,  I  suppose,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  from  artificial  manures,  such 
as  superphosphate,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  nitrate  of  soda." — 
"  No ;  that  is  not  how  I  used  the  term.  A  few  years  ago,  we 
used  to  hear  much  in  regard  to  the  '  exhaustion  of  soils. '  I 
thought  this  phrass  conveyed  a  wrong  i,lea.  When  new  land 
produces  large  crops,  and  when,  after  a  few  years,  the  crops  get 
less  and  loss,  we  were  tol;l  that  the  farmers  were  exhausting  their 
land.  I  said,  no  ;  the  farmers  are  not  exhausting  the  soil ;  they 
are  merely  exhausting  the  accumulated  plant-food  in  the  soil.  In 
other  words,  they  are  using  up  the  natural  manure. 

"  Take  my  own  farm.  Fifty  years  ago,  it  was  covered  with  a 
heavy  growth  of  maple,  beech,  black  -walnut,  oak,  and  other  trees. 
These  trees  had  shed  annual  crops  cf  leaves  for  centuries.  The 
leaves  rot  on  the  ground ;  the  tre23  also,  age  after  age.  These 
leaves  and  other  organic  matter  form  what  I  have  called  natur  1 
manure.  When  the  land  is  cleared  up  and  plowed,  this  nature.! 
manure  decays  more  rapidly  than  when  the  land  lies  undisturbed ; 
precisely  as  a  manure-pile  will  ferment  and  decay  (more  rapidly  if 
turned  occasionally,  and  exposed  to  the  air.  The  plowing  and 
cultivating  renders  this  natural  manure  more  readily  available. 
The  leaves  decompose,  and  furnish  food  for  the  growing  crop." 

EXHAUSTION  OF  THE  SOIL. 

"  You  think,  then,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  when  a  piece  of  land 
is  cleared  of  the  forest,  harrowed,  and  sown  to  wheat ;  plowed 
and  planted  to  corn,  and  the  process  repeated  again  and  again, 
until  the  land  no  longer  yields  profitable  crops,  that  it  is  the 
'natural  manure,'  and  not  the  soil,  that  is  exhausted?" 

"  I  think  the  soil,  at  any  rate,  is  not  exhausted,  and  I  can  easily 
conceive  of  a  case  where  even  the  natural  manure  is  very  far  from 
being  all  used  up." 

"  Why,  then,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  is  the  land  so  poor  that  it 
will  scarcely  support  a  sheep  to  the  acre  ?  " 


2i  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  SLnply  because  the  natural  maaura  and  otaer  plant-food 
which  the  soil  contains  is  not  in  an  available  condition.  It  lies 
dead  and  inert.  It  is  not  soluble,  and  the  roots  of  the  plants  can- 
not get  enough  of  it  to  enable  them  to  thrive ;  and  in  addition  to 
this,  you  will  find  as  a  matter  of  fact  that  these  poor  '  exhausted  ' 
farms  are  infested  with  weeds,  which  rob  the  growing  crops  of  a 
large  part  of  the  scanty  supply  of  available  plant-food." 

"But  these  weeds,"  said  the  Deacon,  "are  not  removed  from 
the  farm.  They  rot  on  the  land  ;  nothing  is  lost." 

"  True,"  said  I,  "  but  they,  nevertheless,  rob  the  growing  crops 
of  available  plant-food.  The  annual  supply  of  plant-food,  instead 
of  being  used  to  grow  useful  plants,  is  used  ta  grow  weeds." 

"I  understmd  that,"  said  the  Deacon,  "but  if  the  weeds  are 
left  on  the  land,  and  the  useful  plants  are  sold,  the  farmer  who 
keeps  his  lan:l  clean  would  exhaust  his  land  faster  than  the  care- 
less farmer  who  lets  his  land  lie  until  it  is  overrun  with  thistles, 
briars,  and  pig-weed.  You  agricultural  writers,  who  are  con- 
st mtly  urging  us  to  farm  better  and  grow  larger  crops,  seem  to 
overlook  this  point.  As  you  know,  I  do  not  take  much  stock  in 
chemical  theories  as  applied  to  agriculture,  but  as  you  do,  here  is 
a  little  extract  I  cut  from  an  agricultural  paper,  that  seems  to 
prove  that  the  better  you  work  your  land,  and  the  larger  crops 
you  rai?e,  the  sooner  you  exhaust  your  land." 

The  Deacon  put  on  his  spectacles,  drew  his  chair  nearer  the 
lamp  on  the  table,  and  read  the  following : 

"  Ther^  is,  on  an  average,  about  one-fourth  of  a  pound  of  pot^sli 
to  every  one  hundred  pounds  of  sail,  and  about  one  eighth  of  a 
pound  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  one-sixteenth  of  a  pound  of  sul- 
phuric acid.  If  the  potatoes  and  the  tops  are  continually  removed 
from  the  soil,  it  will  soon  exhaust  the  potash.  If  the  wheat  and 
straw  ar2  removed,  it  will  soon  exhaust  the  phosphate  of  lime  ; 
if  cora  and  the  stalks,  it  will  soon  exhaust  the  sulphuric  acid. 
Unless  there  is  a  rotation,  or  the  material  the  plant  requires  is 
supplied  from  abroad,  your  crops  will  soon  run  out,  though  the 
soil  will  continue  rich  for  other  plants." 

"  That  extract,"  said  I,  "  carries  one  back  twenty-five  years. 
We  used  to  have  article  after  article  in  this  strain.  We  were  told 
that '  always  taking  meal  out  of  the  tub  soon  comes  to  the  bot- 
tom,' and  always  taking  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  from  the  soil 
will  soon  exhaust  the  supply.  But,  practically,  there  is  really  little 
danger  of  our  exhausting  the  land.  It  dors  not  pay.  The  farm- 
er's resources  will  be  exhausted  long  befor?  he  can  e:;lnust  his 
farm." 


NATUIiAL   MANURE.  25 

"Assuming,"  said  the  Doctor,  who  is  fond  of  an  argument, 
"  that  the  above  statement  is  true,  let  us  loo'v  at  tae  facts.  An 
acre  of  soil,  12  inches  deep,  would  weigh  about  1,600  tons;  and  if, 
as  the  writer  quoted  by  the  Deacon  states,  the  soil  contains  4  ozs. 
of  potash  in  every  100  Ibs.  of  soil,  'it  follows  that  an  acre  of  soil, 
12  inches  deep,  contains  8,000  Ibs.  of  potash.  Now,  potatoes  con- 
tain about  20  per  cent  of  dry  matter,  and  tais  dry  matter  con- 
tains, say,  4  per  cent  of  ash,  half  of  which  is  potash.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  250  bushels  of  potatoes  contain  about  60  Ibs.  cf 
potash.  If  we  reckon  that  the  tops  contain  20  Ibs.  more,  or  80 
Ibs.  in  all,  it  follows  that  the  acre  of  soil  contains  potash  enough 
to  grow  an  annual  crop  of  250  bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre  for  one 
hundred  years." 

"I  know  farmers,"  said  Charley,  "who  do  not  gst  over  50 
bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre,  and  in  that  case  the  potash  would 
last  five  hundred  years,  as  the  weeds  grown  with  the  crop  are  left 
on  the  land,  and  do  not,  according  to  the  Deacon,  exhaust  the 
soil." 

"  Good  for  you,  Charley,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  Now  let  us  see 
about  the  phosphoric  acid,  of  which  the  soil,  according  to  the 
above  statement,  contains  only  half  as  much  as  it  contains  of  pot- 
ash, or  4,000  Ibs.  per  acre. 

"  A  crop  of  wheat  of  30  bushels  per  acre,"  continued  the  Doc- 
tor, "  contains  in  the  grain  about  26  Ibs.  of  ash,  and  we  wTill  say 
that  half  of  this  ash  is  phosphoric  acid,  or  13  Ibs.  Allowing  that 
the  straw,  chaff,  etc.,  contain  7  Ibs.  more,  we  remove  from  the  soil 
in  a  crop  of  wheat  of  30  bushels  per  acre,  20  Ibs.  of  phosphoric 
acid,  and  so,  according  to  the  above  estimate,  an  acre  of  soil  con- 
tains phosphoric  aciil  to  produce  annually  a  crop  of  wheat  and 
straw  of  30  bushels  per  acre  for  two  hundred  years. 

u  The  writer  of  the  paragraph  quoted  by  the  Deacon,"  continued 
the  Doctor,  "  selected  the  crops  an:T  elements  best  suited  to  his 
purpose,  and  yet,  according  to  his  own  estimate,  there  is  sufficient 
potash  and  phosphoric  arid  in  the  first  12  inches  of  the  soil  to 
enable  us  to  raise  unusually  large  crops  until  the  nest  Centennial 
in  1976. 

"  But  let  us  take  another  view  of  the  subject,"  continued  the 
Doctor.  "  No  intelligent  farmer  removes  all  the  potatoes  and 
tops,  all  the  wheat,  straw,  and  chaff,  or  all  the  corn  and  stalks  from 
his  farm.  According  to  Dr.  Salisbury,  a  crop  of  corn  of  7i>  bush- 
els per  acre  removes  from  the  soil  600  Ibs.  of  ash,  but  tne  grain 
contains  only  46  Ibs.  The  other  554  Ibs.  is  contained  in  the  stalks, 
etc.,  all  of  which  are  usually  retained  on  the  farm.  It.  follows 


26  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

trom  this,  that  when  only  the  grain  is  sold  off  the  farm,  it  takes 
more  than  thirteen  crops  to  remove  as  much  mineral  matter  from 
the  soil  as  is  contained  in  the  whole  of  one  crop.  Again,  the  ash 
of  the  grain  contains  less  than  3  per  cent  of  sulphuric  acid,  so 
that  the  46  Ibs.  of  ash,  in  75  bushels  of  corn,  contains  less  than  1£ 
Ibs.  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  thus,  if  an  acre  of  soil  contains  2,000 
Ibs.  of  sulphuric  acid,  we  have  sufficient  for  an  annual  crop  of  75 
bushels  per  acre  fcr  fifteen  hundred  years  ! 

"  As  I  said  before,"  continued  the  Doctor,  u  intelligent  fanners 
seLloui  sell  their  straw,  and  they  frequently  purchase  and  consume 
on  the  farm  nearly  as  much  bran,  shorts,  etc.,  as  is  sent  to  market 
with  the  grain  they  sell.  In  the  '  Natural  History  of  New  York,' 
it  is  stated  that  an  acre  of  wheat  in  Western  New  York,  of  30 
bushels  per  acre,  including  straw,  chaff,  etc.,  removes  from  the 
soil  144  Ibs.  of  mineral  matter.  Ganesee  wheat  usually  yields 
about  80  per  cent  of  flour.  This  flour  contains  only  0.7  per  cent 
of  mineral  matter,  while  fine  middlings  contain  4  per  cent ;  coarse 
middlings,  5£  per  cent ;  shorts,  8  per  cent,  and  bran  8|-  per  cent 
of  mineral  matter  or  ash.  It  follows  from  this,  that  out  of  the  144 
Ibs.  of  mineral  matter  in  the  crop  of  wheat,  less  than  10  Ibs.  is 
contained  in  the  flour.  The  remaining  134  Ibs.  is  found  in  the 
straw,  chaff,  bran,  shorts,  etc.,  which  a  good  farmer  is  almost  sure 
to  feed  out  on  his  farm.  But  even  if  the  farmer  feeds  out  none  of 
his  wheat-bran,  but  sells  it  all  with  his  wheat,  the  30  bushels  of 
wheat  remove  from  the  soil  only  26  Ibs.  of  mineral  matter;  and  it 
would  take  more  than  five  crops  to  remove  as  much  mineral  mat- 
ter as  one  crop  of  wheat  and  straw  contains.  Allowing  that  half 
the  asa  of  wheat  is  phosphoric  acid,  30  bushels  remove  only  13 
Ibs.  from  the  soil,  and  if  the  soil  contains  4,000  Ibs.,  it  will  take 
three  hundred  and  seven  crops,  of  30  bushels  each,  to  exhaust  it." 

"  That  is  to  say,"  said  Charley,  "  if  all  the  straw  and  chaff  is  re- 
tained on  the  farm,  and  is  returned  to  the  land  without  loss  of 
phosphoric  acid." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and  if  all  the  bran  and  shorts,  etc., 
were  retained  on  the  farm,  it  would  take  eight  hundred  crops  to 
exhaust  the  soil  of  phosphoric  acid ;  and  it  is  admitted  that  of  all 
the  elements  of  plant-food,  phosphoric  acid  is  the  one  first  to  be 
exhausted  from  the  soil." 

I  have  sold  some  timothy  hay  this  winter,  and  propose  to  do  so 
whenever  the  price  suits.  But  some  of  my  neighbors,  who  do 
not  hesitate  to  sell  their  own  hay,  think  I  ought  not  to  do  so, 
because  I  "  write  for  the  papers"!  It  ought  to  satisfy  them  to 
know  that  I  bring  back  CO  cwt.  of  bran  for  every  ton  of  hay  I 


NATUKAL   MANURE.  27 

sell.  My  rulo  is  to  sell  nothing  but  wheat,  barley,  beans,  potatoes, 
clover-seed,  apples,  wool,  mutton,  beef,  pork,  and  butter.  Every- 
thing  else  is  consumed  on  the  farm — corn,  peas,  oats,  mustard, 
rape,  mangels,  clover,  straw,  stalks,  etc.  Let  us  make  a  rough 
estimate  of  how  much  is  sold  and  how  much  retained  on  a  hun- 
dred-acre farm,  leaving  out  the  potatoes,  beans,  and  live-stock. 
We  have  say : 
Sold. 

15  acres  wheat,  @  40  bushels  per  acre 18    tons 

5     "     barley,@50         "          "        6       «' 

15     "     clover  seed,  4       "          "        1*  ton. 

Total  sold 25*  tons. 

Retained  on  the  farm. 

15  acres  corn,  @  80  bushels  per  acre 331  tons. 

Corn  stalks  from  do 40  " 

5  acres  barley  straw 8  " 

10     "     oats  and  peas,  equal  80  bushels  of  oats 121  " 

Straw  from  do 20  " 

15  acres  wheat-straw 25  " 

15     "     clover-hay 25  " 

Clover-seed  straw 10  " 

15  acres  pasture  and  meadow,  equal  40  tons  hay 40  " 

5     "     mustard,  equal  10  tons  hay 10  " 

5     "     rape,  equal  10  tons  hay 10  u 

5     "     mangels,  25  tons  per  acre,  equal  to  3  tons  dry 15  " 

Leaves  from  do 3  " 

Total  retained  on  the  farm 252*  tons. 

It  would  take  a  good  many  years  to  exhaust  any  ordinary  soil 
by  such  a  course  of  cropping.  Except,  perhaps,  the  sandy  knolls, 
I  think  there  is  not  an  acre  on  my  farm  that  would  be  exhausted 
in  ten  thousand  years,  and  as  some  portions  of  the  low  alluvial 
soil  will  grow  crops  without  manure,  there  will  be  an  opportunity 
to  give  the  poor,  sandy  knolls  more  than  their  share  of  plant-food. 
In  this  way,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  we  sell  produce  and 
bring  nothing  back,  I  believe  the  whole  farm  will  gradually 
increase  in  productiveness.  The  plant-food  annually  rendered 
available  from  the  decomposition  and  disintegration  of  the  inert 
organic  and  mineral  matter  in  the  soil,  will  be  more  than  equal  to 
that  exported  from  the  farm.  If  the  soil  becomes  deficient  in  any- 
thing, it  is  likely  that  it  will  be  in  phosphates,  and  a  little  super- 
phosphate or  bone-dust  might  at  any  rate  b3  profitably  used  on 
the  rape,  mustard,  and  turnips. 

The  point  in  good  farming  is  to  develop  from  the  latent  stores 


23  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

in  the  soil,  and  to  accumulate  enough  available  plant-food  for  uhe 
production  of  the  largest  possible  yield  of  those  crops  which  we 
sell.  In  other  words,  we  want  enough  available  plant-food  in  tho 
soil  to  grow  40  bushels  of  wheat  and  50  bushels  of  barley.  I  think 
the  farmer  who  raises  10  tons  for  every  ton  he  sells,  will  soon 
reach  this  point,  and  when  once  reached,  it  is  a  comparatively 
easy  matter  t  j  maintain  this  degree  of  fertility. 

WHY  OUR  CROPS  ARE  SO  POOR. 

"  If  the  soil  is  so  rich  in  plant-food,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  again 
ask,  why  are  our  crops  so  poor  ?  " 

The  Deacon  said  this  very  quietly.  He  did  not  seem  to  know 
that  he  had  asked  one  of  the  most  important  questions  in  the 
whole  range  of  agricultural  science.  It  is  a  fact  that  a  soil  may 
contain  enough  plant-food  to  produce  a  thousand  large  crops,  and 
yet  the  crops  we  obtain  from  it  may  be  so  poor  as  hardly  to  pay 
the  cost  of  cultivation.  The  plant-food  is  there,  but  the  plants 
cannot  get  at  it.  It  is  not  in  an  available  condition ;  it  is  not  sol- 
uble. A  case  is  quoted  by  Prof.  Johnson,  where  a  soil  was  an- 
alyzed, arid  found  to  contain  to  the  depth  of  one  foot  4,652  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen  per  acre,  but  only  63  Ibs.  of  this  was  in  an  available  con- 
dition. And  this  is  equally  true  of  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and 
other  elements  of  plant-food.  No  matter  how  much  plant-food 
there  may  be  in  the  soil,  the  only  portion  that  is  of  any  immediate 
value  is  the  small  amount  that  is  annually  available  for  the  growth 
of  crops. 

HOW  TO  GET  LARGER  CROPS. 

"  I  am  tired  of  so  much  talk  about  plant-food,"  said  the  Deacon ; 
"  what  we  want  to  know  is  ho\v  to  make  our  land  produce  larger 
crops  of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  barley,  potatoes,  clover,  and  grass." 

This  is  precisely  what  I  am  trying  to  show.  On  my  own  farm, 
the  three  leading  objects  are  (1)  to  get  the  land  drained,  (2)  to  make 
it  clean  and  mellow,  and  (3)  to  get  available  nitrogen  for  the  cereal 
crops,  i^'ter  the  first  two  objects  are  accomplished,  the  measure 
of  productiveness  will  be  determined  by  the  amount  of  available 
nitrogen  in  the  soil.  How  to  get  available  nitrogen,  therefore,  is 
my  chief  and  ultimate  object  in  all  the  operations  on  the  farm, 
and  it  is  here  that  science  can  help  me.  I  know  how  to  get  nitro- 
gen, but  I  want  to  get  it  in  tho  cheapest  way,  and  then  to  be  sure 
that  I  do  not  waste  it. 

There  is  one  fact  fully  ost  iblishccl  by  repotted  experiment  and 
general  experience — that  80  Ibs.  of  available  nitrogen  per  a^re, 


SWAMP-MUCK    OE    PEAT   AS    MANURE.  29 

applied  in  manure,  will  almost  invariably  give  us  a  greatly  in- 
creased-yield  of  grain  crops.  I  should  expe;t,  on  my  farm,  that 
on  land  which,  without  manure,  would  give  me  15  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre,  such  a  dressing  of  manure  would  give  me,  in  a  favorable 
season,  35  or  40  bushels  per  acre,  with  a  proportional  increase  of 
straw  ;  and,  in  addition  to  this,  there  would  be  considerable  nitro- 
gen left  for  the  following  crop  of  clover.  Is  it  not  worth  whilo 
making  an  earnest  effort  to  get  this  80  Ibs.  of  available  nitrogen  ? 

I  have  on  my  farm  many  acres  of  low,  mucky  land,  bordering 
on  the  creek,  that  probably  contain  several  thousand  pounds  of 
nitrogen  per  acre.  So  long  as  the  land  is  surcharged  with  water, 
this  nitrogen,  and  otb^r  plant-food,  lies  dormant.  But  drain  it, 
and  let  in  the  air,  and  t'ic  oxygen  decomposes  the  organic  matter, 
and  ammonia  and  nitric  acid  are  produced.  In  other  words,  we 
get  available  nitrogen  and  other  plant-food,  and  the  land  becomes 
capable  of  producing  large  crops  of  corn  and  grass  ;  and  the  crops 
obtained  from  this  low,  rich  laud,  will  make  manure  for  tl:c  poorer, 
upland  portions  of  the  farm. 


CHAPTER     V. 
SWAMP-MUCK    OR    PEAT    AS   MANURE. 

"  It  would  pay  you,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  draw  out  200  or  800 
loads  of  muck  from  the  swamp  every  year,  and  compost  it  with 
your  manure." 

This  may  or  may  not  be  the  caso.  It  depends  on  the  composi- 
tion of  tho  muck,  and  how  much  labor  it  takes  to  handle  it. 

"  What  you  should  do,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  to  commence  r.t 
the  creek,  and  straighten  it.  Take  a  gang  of  men,  and  be  with 
them  witli  yourself,  or  get  a  good  foreman  to  direit  operations. 
Commence  at  a,  and  straighten  the  creek  to  &,  and  from  I  to  c  (see 
map  on  next  pag").  Throw  all  the  rich,  black  muck  in  a  heap  by 
itself,  separate  from  the  sand.  You,  or  your  foreman,  must  be 
there,  or  you  will  not  get  this  done.  A  good  ditcher  will  throw  out 
a  great  mass  of  this  loose  muck  and  sand  in  a  day ;  and  you  want 
him  to  dig,  not  think.  You  must  do  the  thinking,  and  tell  him 
which  is  muck,  and  which  is  only  sand  and  dirt.  When  thrown 
up,  this  muck,  in  our  dry,  hot  climate,  will,  in  the  course  of  a  few 


30 


TALKS    ON    MANUliES. 


months,  part  with  a  large  amount  of  water,  and  it  can  then  be  drawn 
to  the  barns  and  stables,  and  us3d  for  bedding,  or  for  composting 
with  manure.  Or  if  you  do  not  want  to  draw  it  to  the  barn,  get 
some  refuse  lime  fro.n  the  lime-kiln,  and  mix  it  with  the  muck 
after  it  has  been  thrown  up  a  few  weeks,  and  is  partially  dry. 
Turn  over  the  heap,  and  put  a  few  bushels  of  lime  to  every  cord 
of  the  muck,  mixing  the  lime  and  muck  together,  leaving  the  he^p 
in  a  compact  form,  and  in  good  shape,  to  shed  the  rain. 

"  When  you  have  straightened,  and  cleaned  out,  and  deepened 
the  creek,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "commence  at  z  on  the  new 
creek,  and  cut  a  ditch  through  the  swamp  to  y.  Throw  the  muck 
on  one  side,  and  the  sand  on  the  other.  This  will  give  yon  some 


Z\ 


\ 
YV 


H 


MA.P  OP  CREEK. 


good,  rich  muck,  and  at  the  same  time  drain  your  swamp.  Then 
cut  some  under-dralm  from  y  towards  the  higher  land  at  w,  0,  and 
h,  an:l  from  /  to  x.  These  will  drain  your  land,  and  set  free  the 
inert  plant-food,  and  such  crops  of  timothy  as  you  will  get  from 
this  swamp  will  astonish  the  natives,  and  your  bill  for  medical  at- 
tendance and  quinine  will  sink  to  zero." 

The  Doctor  is  ri^ht.     There  is  money  and  health  in  the  plan. 

Prof.  8.  W.  Johnson,  as  chemist  to  the  Conn.  State  Ag.  Society, 
made  accurate  analyses  of  33  samples  of  peat  and  muck  sent  him 
by  gentlemen  from  different  parts  of  the  State.  The  amount  of 


WHAT   IS    POTENTIAL    AMMONIA  ?  31 

potential  ammonia  in  the  chemically  dry  peat  was  found  to  vary 
from  0.58  in  the  poorest,  to  4.06  per  cent  in  the  richest  samples. 
In  other  words,  one  deposit  of  muck  may  contain  seven  times  as 
much  nitrogen  as  another,  and  it  would  be  well  before  speeding 
much  money  in  drawing  out  muck  for  manure  to  send  a  sample  of 
it  to  some  good  chemist.  A  bed  of  swamp-muck,  easily  acces- 
sible, and  containing  3  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  would  be  a  mine  of 
wealth  to  any  farmer.  One  ton  of  such  muck,  dry,  would  contain 
more  nitrogen  than  7  tons  of  straw. 

"  It  would  be  capital  stuff,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  put  in  your 
pig-pens  to  absorb  the  urine.  It  would  make  rich  manure." 

"That  is  so,"  said  I,  "and  the  weak  point  in  my  pig-breeding  is 
the  want  of  sufficient  straw.  Pigs  use  up  more  bedding  than  any 
other  animals.  I  have  over  200  pi;^s,  and  I  could  use  a  ton  of  dry 
muck  to  each  pig  every  winter  to  great  advantage.  The  pens 
would  be  drier,  the  pigs  healthier,  and  the  manure  richer." 

The  Doctor  here  interrupted  us.  "I  see,"  said  he,  "that  the 
average  amount  of  ammonia  in  the  33  samples  of  dry  peat  analyzed 
by  Professor  Johnson  is  2.07  per  cent.  I  had  no  idea  that  muck  was 
so  rich.  Barn-yard  manure,  or  the  manure  from  the  horse  stables  in 
the  cities,  contains  only  half  a  per  cent  (0.5)  of  ammonia,  and  it  is 
an  unusually  rich  manure  that  contains  one  per  cent.  We  are  safo 
in  saying  that  a  ton  of  dry  muck,  on  the  average,  contains  at  least 
twice  as  much  potential  ammonia  as  the  average  of  our  best  and 
richest  stable-manure." 


CHAPTER     VI. 
WHAT   IS  POTENTIAL  AMMONIA? 

"  You  say,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  dry  muck  contains  twice  as 
much  ''potential  ammonia'1  as  manure?' ' 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  it  contains  three  or  four  times  as 
much  as  the  half-rotted  straw  and  stalks  you  call  manure." 

"But  what  do  you  mean,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "by  ''potential 
ammonia? ' " 

"  It  is  a  term,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  we  used  to  hear  much  more  fre- 
quently than  we  do  now.  Ammonia  is  composed  of  14  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen  and  3  Ibs.  of  hydrogen ;  and  if,  on  analysis,  a  guano  or 


32  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

other  manure  was  found  to  contain,  in  whatever  form,  7  per  cent 
of  nitrogen,  the  chemist  reported  that  he  found  in  it  8|  per  cent 
of  'potential'  ammonia.  Dried  blood  contains  no  ammonia,  but 
if  it  contained  14  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  the  chemist  would  be  justi- 
fied in  saying  it  contained  17  per  cent  of  potential  ammonia,  from 
the  fact  that  the  dried  Stood,  by  fermentation,  is  capable  of  yield- 
ing this  amount  of  ammonia.  We  say  a  ton  of  common  horsc- 
nianure  contains  10  or  12  Ibs.  of  potential  ammonia.  If  perfectly 
fresh,  it  may  not  contain  a  particle  of  ammonia ;  bat  it  contains 
nitrogen  enough  to  produce,  by  fermentation,  10  or  12  Ibs.  of  am- 
monia. And  when  it  is  said  that  dry  swamp-muck  contains,  en 
the  average,  2.07  per  cent  of  potential  ammonia,  it  simply  means 
that  it  contains  nitrogen  enough  to  produce  this  amount  of  am- 
monia. In  point  of  fact,  I  suppose  muck,  when  dug  fresh  from 
the  swamp,  contains  no  ammonia.  Ammonia  is  quite  soluble  in 
water,  and  if  there  was  any  ammonia  in  the  swamp-muck,  it 
would  soon  be  washed  out.  The  nitrogen,  or  '  potential  ammonia,' 
in  the  rnuck  exists  in  an  inert,  insoluble  form,  ar.d  before  the 
inuck  will  yield  up  this  nitrogen  to  plants,  it  is  necessary,  in  some 
way,  to  ferment  or  decompose  it.  But  this  is  a  point  we  will 
discuss  at  a  future  meeting." 


CHAPTEE     VII. 
TILLAGE    IS   MANURE. 

The  Doctor  has  been  invited  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  manure 
before  our  local  Farmers'  Club.  "  The  etymological  meaning  of 
the  word  manure,"  he  said,  "  is  hand  labor,  from  main,  hand,  and 
ouvrer,  to  work.  To  manure  the  land  originally  meant  to  culti- 
vate it,  to  hoe,  to  dig,  to  plow,  to  harrow,  or  stir  it  in  any  way  so 
as  to  expose  its  particles  to  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere,  and 
thus  render  its  latent  elements  assimilable  by  plants. 

"  When  our  first  parent,"  he  continued,  "  was  sent  forth  from 
the  Garden  of  Eden  to  till  the  ground  from  whence  he  was  taken, 
he  probably  did  not  know  that  the  means  necessary  to  kill  the 
thorns  and  thistles  enhanced  the  productiveness  of  the  soil,  yet 
such  was  undoubtedly  the  case. 


TILLAGE    IS   MANURE.  33 

"  The  farmer  for  centuries  was  simply  a  '  tiller  of  the  ground.' 
Guano,  though  formed,  according  to  some  eminent  authorities, 
long  ages  before  the  creation  of  man,  was  not  then  known.  The 
coprolites  lay  undisturbed  in  countless  numbers  in  the  lias,  the 
greensand,  and  the  Suffolk  crag.  Charleston  p'.osphates  were 
unknown.  Superphosphate,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  nitrate  of  soda, 
and  kainit  were  not  dreamed  of.  Nothing  was  said  about  the 
mineral  manure  theory,  or  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil.  There  were 
no  frauds  in  artificial  fertilizers ;  no  Experiment  Stations-  The 
earth,  fresh  from  the  hands  of  its  Creator,  needed  only  to  be 
'tickled  with  a  hoe  to  laugh  with  a  harvest.'  Nothing  was  said 
about  the  value  of  the  manure  obtained  from  the  consumption  of 
a  ton  of  oil-cake,  or  malt-combs,  or  bran,  or  clover-hay.  For 
many  centuries,  the  hoe,  the  spade,  and  the  rake  constituted 
Adam's  whole  stock  in  trade. 

"At  length,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "a  great  discovery  was 
made.  A  Roman  farmer — probably  a  prominent  Granger — stum- 
bled on  a  mighty  truth.  Manuring  the  land — that  is,  hoeing  and 
cultivating  it — inore:ised  its  fertility.  This  was  well  known — had 
been  known  for  ages,  and  acted  upon ;  but  this  Roman  farmer, 
Stercutius,  who  was  a  close  observer,  discovered  that  the  droppings 
of  animals  had  th°  same  effect  as  hoeing.  No  wonder  these  idol- 
atrous people  voted  him  a  god.  They  thought  there  would  be  no 
more  oU-fasMoned  manuring  ;  no  more  hoeing. 

"  Of  coarse  they  were  mistaken,"  continued  tfce  Doctor,  "  our 
arable  land  will  always  need  plowi-g  and  cultivating  to  kill 
weeds.  Manure,  in  the  sense  in  which  we  now  use  the  term,  is 
only  a  partial  substitute  for  tillage,  and  tillage  is  only  a  partial 
substitute  for  manure ;  but  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the 
words  mean  the  same  thing,  and  the  effects  of  both  are,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  identical.  Tillage  is  manure,  and  manure  is  tillage." 


34  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

« 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
SUMMER-FALLOWING. 

This  is  not  tlio  place  to  discuss  the  merits,  or  demerits,  of  fallow- 
ing. But  an  intelligent  Ohio  farmer  writes  me  : — "  I  see  tli-t  you 
recommend  fallow  plowing,  what  are  your  reasons  ?  Granting 
that  the  immediate  result  is  an  increased  crop,  is  not  the  land  im- 
poverished ?  Will  not  the  thorough  cultivation  of  com,  or  pota- 
toes, answer  as  well  ?  "  And  a  distingu  shed  farmer,  of  this  State, 
in  a  recent  communication  expressed  the  same  idea — that  summer- 
fallowing  would  soon  impoverish  the  land.  But  if  this  is  the  case, 
the  fault  is  not  in  the  practice  of  summer-fallowing,  but  in  growing 
too  many  grain  crops,  and  selling  them,  instead  of  consuming  them 
on  t  ae  farm.  Take  two  fields ;  summer- fallow  one,  and  sow  it  to 
wheat.  Plant  the  other  to  corn,  and  sow  wheat  after  it  in  the  fall. 
You  get,  say  35  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  from  the  summer-fallow. 
From  the  other  field  you  get,  say,  30  bushels  of  shelled  corn  per 
acre,  and  10  bushels  of  wheat  afterwards.  Now,  where  a  farmer 
is  in  the  habit  of  selling  all  his  wheat,  and  consuming  all  his  corn 
on  the  farm,  it  is  evident  that  the  practice  of  summer-fallowing 
will  impoverish  the  soil  more  rapidly  than  the  system  of  growing 
corn  followed  by  wheat — and  for  the  simple  reason  that  more 
wheat  is  sold  from  the  farm.  If  no  more  grain  is  sold  in  one  case 
than  in  the  other,  the  summer- fallowing  will  not  impoverish  the 
soil  any  more  than  corn  growing. 

My  idea  of  fallowing  is  this:— The  soil  and  the  atmosphere 
furnish,  on  good,  well  cultivated  land,  plant-food  sufficient,  say,  for 
15  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  every  year.  It  will  be  sometimes 
more,  and  sometimes  less,  according  to  the  season  and  the  character 
of  the  soil,  but  on  good,  strong  limestone  land  this  may  be  taken 
as.  about  the  average.  To  grow  wheat  every  year  in  crops  of  15 
bushels  per  acre,  would  impoverish  the  soil  just  as  much  as  to 
summer-fallow  and  get  30  bushels  of  wheat  every  other  year.  It 
is  the  same  thing  in  either  case.  But  in  summer-fallowing,  we 
clean  the  bnd,  and  the  profits  from  a  crop  oi?  30  bushels  per  acre 
every  other  year,  are  much  more  finn  from  two  crops  of  15  bush- 
els every  year.  You  know  that  Mr.  Lawes  has  a  field  of  about 
thirteen  acres  that  he  sows  with  wheat  every  year.  On  the  plot 
that  receives  no  manure  of  any  kind,  the  crop,  for  twenty  years, 
averaged  16^  bushels  per  acre.  It  is  plowed  twice  every  year,  and 


SUMMER-FALLOWING.  35 

the  wheat  is  hand-hoed  in  the  spring  to  keep  it  clean.  A  few  years 
ago,  in  a  field  adjoining  this  experimental  wheat  field,  and  that  is 
of  the  same  character  of  land,  he  made  the  following  experiment. 
The  land,  after  wheat,  was  fallowed,  and  then  sown  to  wheat ; 
then  fallowed  the  next  year,  and  again  sown  to  wheat,  and  the  next 
year  it  was  sown  to  wheat  after  wheat.  The  following  is  the  re- 
sult compared  with  the  yield  of  the  continuously  unmanured  plot 
in  the  experimental  field  that  is  sown  to  wheat  every  year : 

1.  TEAK— No.  1— Fallow No  crop. 

No.  2 — Wheat  after  wheat 15  bushels  3i  pecks  per  acre. 

2.  TEAK— No.  1— Wheat  after  fallow 37        "       —     "  •* 

No.  2— Wheat  after  wheat 13        "       3i     "  " 

3.  TEAR — No.  1 — Fallow  after  wheat No  crop. 

No.  2— Wheat  after  wheat 15  bushels  3i  pecks  per  acre. 

4.  TEAR— No.  1— Wheat  after  fallow 42        "       —     "  " 

No.  2— Wheat  after  wheat 21        "       Oi     "  " 

5.  TEAR— No.  1— Wheat  after  wheat 17        "       H     "  " 

No.  2— Wheat  after  wheat 17        "       — 

Taking  the  first  four  years,  we  have  a  total  yield  from  the  plot 
sown  every  year  of  66  bushels  2J  pecks,  and  from  the  two  crops 
alternately  fallowed,  a  total  yield  of  79  bushels.  The  next  year, 
when  wheat  was  sown  after  wheat  on  the  land  previously  fallowed, 
the  yield  was  almost  identical  with  the  yield  from  the  plot  that  has 
grown  wheat  after  wheat  for  so  many  years. 

So  far,  these  results  do  not  indicate  any  exhaustion  from  the 
practice  of  fallowing.  On  the  other  hand,  they  tend  to  show  that 
we  can  get  more  wheat  by  sowing  it  every  other  year,  than  by 
cropping  it  every  year  in  succession.  The  reason  for  this  may  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  in  a  fallow  the  land  is  more  frequently  ex- 
posed to  the  atmosphere  by  repeated  plo wings  and  harro wings ;  and 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  effect  of  stirring  the  land  is  not 
necessarily  in  proportion  to  the  total  amount  of  stirring,  but  is 
according  to  the  number  of  times  that  fresh  particles  of  soil  are 
exposed  to  the  atmosphere.  Two  plowings  and  two  harrowings 
in  one  week,  will  not  do  as  much  good  as  two  plowings  and  two 
harrowings,  at  different  times  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  months. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  object,  theoretically,  to  sowing  wheat 
after  barley.  We  often  plow  the  barley  stubble  twice,  and  spend 
considerable  labor  in  getting  the  land  into  good  condition  ;  but  it 
is  generally  all  done  in  the  course  of  ten  days  or  two  weeks.  We 
do  not  get  any  adequate  benefit  for  this  labor.  We  can  kill  weeds 
readily  at  this  season,  (August),  but  the  stirring  of  the  soil  does 
not  develope  the  latent  plant-food  to  the  extent  it  would  if  the 


36  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

work  was  not  necessarily  done  in  such  a  limited  period.  I  say 
theoretically,  for  in  point  of  fact  I  do  sow  wheat  after  barley.  I  ao 
so  because  it  is  very  convenient,  and  because  it  is  more  immediately 
profitable.  I  am  satisfied,  however,  that  in  the  end  it  wouLl  bo 
more  profitable  to  seed  down  the  barley  with  clover. 

We  must  raise  larger  crops ;  and  to  uo  this  we  must  raise  them 
less  frequently.  This  is  the  key-note  of  the  coming  improved 
system  of  American  agriculture,  in  all  sections  where  good  land  is 
worth  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  In  the  neighborhood 
of  large  cities,  and  wherever  land  commands  a  high  price,  we  must 
keep  our  farms  in  a  high  state  of  fertility  by  the  purchase  of 
manures  or  cattle  foods.  Those  of  us  in  the  interior,  where  we 
can  not  buy  manure,  must  raise  fewer  grain  crops,  and  more  clover. 
We  must  aim  to  raise  40  bushels  of  wheat,  50  bushels  of  barley,  80 
bushels  of  oats,  and  100  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  and  5  bushels  of 
clover-seed  per  acre.  That  this  can  be  done  on  good,  well-dr.:ined 
land,  from  the  unaided  resources  of  the  farm,  I  have  no  doubt.  It 
may  give  us  no  more  grain  to  S3ll  than  afpresent,  but  it  will  enable 
us  to  produce  much  more  mutton,  wool,  beef,  cheese,  butter,  and 
pork,  than  at  present. 

" But,  then,  will  there  be  a  demand  for  the  meat,  wool,  etc.?" 
The  present  indications  are  highly  favorable.  But  we  must  aim 
to  raise  good  meat.  The  low-priced  beef  and  mutton  sold  in  our 
markets  are  as  unprofitable  to  the  consumer  as  they  are  to  the  pro- 
ducer. We  must  feed  higher,  and  to  do  this  to  advantage  we  must 
have  improved  stock.  There  is  no  profit  in  farming  without  good 
tillage,  larger  crops,  improved  stock,  and  higher  feeding.  The  de- 
tails will  be  modified  by  circumstances,  but  the  principles  are  the 
same  wherever  a.gri-cvJture  is  practised. 


HOW   TO    RESTORE    A    WORX-OUT   FARM.  37 

CHAPTER    IX. 
HOW  TO  RESTORE  A  WORN-OUT  FARM. 

I  have  never  yet  seen  a  "worn-out"  or  "exhausted  farm."  I 
know  many  farms  that  are  "run  down."  I  bougut  just  such  a 
farm  a  dozen  or  more  years  ago,  and  1  have  been  trying  hard,  ever 
since,  to  bring  it  up  to  a  profitable  standard  of  productiveness — and 
am  still  trying,  and  expect  to  have  to  keep  on  trying  so  long  as  I 
keep  on  farming.  The  truth  is,  there  never  was  a  farm  so  rich, 
that  the  farmer  did  not  wish  it  was  richer. 

I  have  succeeded  in  making  the  larger  part  of  my  farm  much 
more  productive  than  it  ever  was  before,  smce  it  was  cleared  from 
the  original  forest.  But  it  is  far  from  being  as  rich  as  1  want  it. 
The  truth  is,  God  sent  us  into  this  world  to  work,  and  He  h_s 
given  us  plenty  to  do,  if  we  will  only  do  it.  At  any  rate,  this  is 
true  of  farming.  He  has  not  given  us  land  ready  to  our  hand. 
The  man  who  first  cleared  up  my  farm,  had  no  easy  task.  Ho 
fairly  earned  all  the  good  crops  he  ever  got  from  it.  I  have  never 
begrudged  him  one  particle  of  the  "  natural  manure  "  he  took  out 
of  the  land,  in  the  form  of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  and  hay.  On  the 
dry,  sandy  knolls,  he  probably  got  out  a  good  portion  of  this 
natural  manure,  but  on  the  wetter  and  heavier  portions  of  the  farm, 
he  probably  did  not  get  out  one-hundredth  part  of  the  natural 
manure  which  the  land  contained. 

Now,  when  such  a  farm  came  into  my  possession,  what  was  I  to 
do  with  it  ? 

"  Tell  us  what  you  did,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and  then,  perhaps, 
we  can  tell  you  what  you  ought  to  have  done,  and  what  you  ought 
to  have  left  undone." 

"  I  made  many  mistakes." 

"Ain3n,"  said  the  Daacon;  <rl  am  glad  to  hear  yo-i  acknowl- 
edge it." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Doctor,  ."it  is  better  to  make  mistakes  in  trying 
to  do  something,  than  to  hug  our  self-esteem,  and  fold  our  hands 
in  indolence.  It  has  been  sa'd  that  critics  are  men  who  hnve  failed 
in  their  undertakings.  But  I  rather  think  the  most  disagreeable, 
and  self-satisfied  critics,  are  men  who  have  r.ever  done  anything, 
or  tried  to  do  anything,  themselves." 

The  Deacon,  who,  though  something  of  an  old  fogy,  is  a  good 
deal  of  a  man,  and  possessed  of  good  common  sense,  and  much  ex- 


38  TALKS    OX   MAXUKES. 

perience,  took  these  remarks  kindly.  "  Well,"  said  hs  to  me  "I 
must  say  that  your  farm  bas  certainly  improved,  but  you  did  tLings 
so  differently  trorn  what  we  expected,  that  we  could  not  see  what 
you  were  driving  at." 

"  I  can  tell  you  what  I  have  been  aiming  at  all  along.  1st.  To 
drain  the  wtt  portions  of  the  arable  land.  2d.  To  kill  weeds,  and 
make  the  soil  mellow  and  clean.  3d.  To  make  more  manure." 

"  You  have  also  bought  some  bone-dust,  superphosphate,  and 
other  artificial  manures." 

"True;  and  if  I  had  had  more  money  I  would  have  bought 
more  manure.  It  would  have  paid  well.  I  could  have  made  my 
lf,nd  as  rich  as  it  is  now  in  half  the  time." 

I  had  to  depend  principally  on  the  natural  resources  of  the  land. 
I  got  out  of  the  soil  all  I  could,  and  kept  as  much  of  it  as  possible 
on  the  farm.  One  of  the  mistakes  I  made  was,  in  breaking  up  too 
much  land,  and  putting  in  too  much  wheat,  barley,  oats,  peas,  and 
corn.  It  would  have  been  better  for  my  pocket,  though  possibly 
not  so  good  for  the  farm,  if  I  had  left  more  of  the  land  in  glass, 
and  also,  if  I  had  summer-fallowed  more,  and  sown  less  barley  and 
oats,  and  planted  less  corn. 

"  I  do  not  see  how  plowing  up  the  grass  land,"  said  the  Deacon, 
"could  possibly  be  any  better,  for  the  farm.  You  agricultural 
writers  are  always  telling  us  that  we  plow  too  much  land,  and  do 
not  raise  grass  and  clover  enough." 

"  What  I  meant  by  saying  that  it  would  have  been  better  for  my 
pocket,  though  possibly  not  so  good  for  the  farm,  if  I  had  not 
plowed  so  much  land,  may  need  explanation.  The  land  had  been 
only  half  cultivated,  and  was  very  foul.  The  grass  and  clover 
fields  did  not  give  more  than  half  a  crop  of  hay,  and  the  hay  was 
poor  in  quality,  and  much  of  it  half  thistles,  and  other  weeds.  I 
plowed  this  land,  planted  it  to  corn,  and  cultivated  it  thoroughly. 
But  the  labor  of  keeping  the  corn  clean  was  costly,  end  absorbed  a 
very  large  slice  of  the  profits.  But  the  corn  yielded  a  far  larger 
produce  per  a<Te  than  I  should  have  got  had  the  lar.d  lain  in  grass. 
And  as  all  this  produce  was  consumed  on  the  farm,  we  made  more 
manure  than  if  we  had  plowed  less  land." 

I  have  great  faith  in  the  benefits  of  thorough  tillage — or,  in  other 
words,  of  breaking  up,  pulverizing,  ani  exposing  the  soil  to  the 
decomposing  action  of  the  atmosphere.  I  look  upon  a  good,  strong 
soil  as  a  kind  of  storehouse  of  plant-food.  But  it  is  not  an  easy 
mntter  to  render  this  plant-food  soluble.  If  it  were  any  less  solu- 
ble than  it  is,  it  would  have  all  leached  out  of  the  land  centrries 
ago.  Turning  over,  and  fining  a  manure-heap,  if  otbcr  cone;itions 


HOW    TO    RESTORE    A   WORN-OUT   FARM.  39 

are  favorable,  cause  rapid  fermentation  with  the  formation  of  car- 
bonate of  ammonia,  and  other  soluble  salts.  Many  of  our  soils,  to 
the  depth  01  eight  or  ten  inches,  contain  enough  nitrogenous  mat 
terin  an  acre  to  produce  two  or  three  thousand  pounds  of  ammonia. 
By  stirring  the  soil,  and  exposing  it  to  the  atmosphere,  a  small 
portion  of  this  nitrogen  becomes  annually  available,  and  is  taken 
up  by  the  growing  crops.  And  it  is  so  with  the  other  eleme  ts  of 
plant-food.  Stirring  the  soil,  then,  is  the  basis  of  agriculture.  It 
has  been  said  that  we  must  return  to  the  soil  as  much  plant-food 
as  we  take  from  it.  If  this  were  true,  nothing  could  be  sold  from 
the  farm.  What  we  should  aim  to  do,  is  to  develop  as  much  as 
possible  of  the  plant-food  that  lies  latent  in  the  soil,  and  not  to  sell 
in  the  form  of  crops,  cheese,  wool,  or  animals,  any  more  of  this 
plant-food  than  we  annually  develop  from  the  soil.  In  this  way 
the  "  condition  "  of  the  soil  would  remain  the  same.  If  we  sell 
less  than  we  develop,  the  condition  of  the  soil  will  improve. 

By  "  condition,"  I  mean  the  amount  of  available  plant-food  in  the 
soil.  Nearly  all  our  farms  are  poorer  in  plant-food  to-day  than 
when  first  cleared  of  the  original  forest,  or  than  they  were  ten, 
fifteen,  or  twenty  years  later.  In  other  words,  the  plants  and 
animals  that  have  been  sold  from  the  farm,  have  carried  off  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  plant-food.  WG  have  taken  far  more  nitro- 
gen, phosphoric  acid,  potash,  etc.,  out  of  the  soil,  than  we  have 
returned  to  it  in  the  shape  of  manure.  Consequently,  the  soil  must 
contain  less  and  less  of  plant  -food  every  year.  And  yet,  while  this 
is  a  self-evident  fact,  it  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  many  of  these 
self -same  farms  arc  more  productive  now  than  when  first  cleared, 
or  at  any  rate  more  productive  than  they  were  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years  ago. 

Sometime  ago,  the  Deacon  and  I  visited  the  farm  of  Mr.  Dewey, 
of  Monroe  Co.,  N.  Y.  He  is  a  good  farmer.  He  does  not  practice 
"  high  farming  "  in  the  sense  in  which  I  use  that  term.  His  is  a 
good  example  of  what  I  term  slow  farming.  He  raises  large  crops, 
but  comparatively  few  of  them.  On  his  farm  of  300  acres,  he 
raises  40  acres  of  wheat,  17  acres  of  Indian  corn,  and  23  acres  of 
oats,  barley,  potatoes,  roots,  etc.  In  other  words,  he  lias  80  acres 
in  crops,  and  220  acres  in  grass — no.  permanent  grass.  He  lets  it 
lie  in  grass  five,  six,  seven,  or  eight  years,  as  he  deems  best,  and 
then  breaks  it  np,  and  plants  it  to  corn.  The  land  he  intends  to 
plant  to  corn  next  year,  has  been  in  grass  for  seven  years.  He 
will  put  pretty  much  all  his  manure  on  this  land.  After  corn,  it 
will  be  sown  to  oats,  or  barley ;  then  sown  to  wheat,  and  seeded 
down  again.  It  will  then  lie  in  grass  three,  four,  five,  six,  or  seven 


40  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

years,  until  he  needs  it  again  for  corn,  etc.  This  is  "slow  farm- 
ing," but  it  is  also  good  farming — that  is  to  say,  it  gives  large 
yields  per  acre,  and  a  good  return  for  the  labor  expended. 

The  soil  of  this  farm  is  richer  to-day  in  available  plant-food  than 
when  first  cleared.  It  produces  larger  crops  per  acre. 

Mr.  D.  called  our  attention  to  a  fact  that  establishes  this  point. 
An  old  fence  that  had  occupied  the  ground  for  many  years  was 
removed  some  years  since,  and  the  two  fields  thrown  into  one. 
Every  time  this  field  is  in  crops,  it  is  easy  to  see  where  the  old 
fence  was,  by  the  short  straw  and  poor  growth  on  this  strip,  as 
compared  with  the  land  on  each  side  which  had  been  cultivated 
for  years. 

This  is  precisely  the  result  that  I  should  have  expected.  If  Mr. 
D.  was  a  poor  farmer — if  he  cropped  his  land  frequently,  did  not 
more  than  half -cultivate  it,  sold  everything  he  raised,  and  drew 
back  no  manure — I  think  the  old  fence-strip  would  have  given  the 
best  crops. 

The  strip  of  land  on  which  the  old  fence  stood  in  Mr.  Dewey's 
field,  contained  more  plant-food  than  the  soil  on  either  side  of  it. 
But  it  was  not  available.  It  was  not  developed.  It  was  latent, 
inert,  insoluble,  crude,  and  undecomposed.  It  was  so  much  dead 
capital.  The  laud  on  either  side  which  had  been  cultivated  for 
years,  produced  better  crops.  Why  ?  Simply  because  the  stirring 
of  the  soil  had  developed  more  plant-food  than  had  been  removed 
by  the  crops.  If  the  stirring  of  the  soil  developed  100  Ibs.  of  plant- 
food  a  year,  and  only  75  Ibs.  were  carried  off  in  the  crops — 25  Ibs. 
being  left  on  the  land  in  the  form  of  roots,  stubble,  etc. — the  land, 
at  the  expiration  of  40  years,  would  contain,  provided  none  of  it 
was  lost,  1,000  Ibs.  more  available  plant-food  than  the  uncultivated 
strip.  On  the  other  hand,  the  latter  would  contain  3,000  Ibs.  more 
actual  plant-food  per  acre  than  the  land  which  had  been  cultivated 
— but  it  is  in  an  unavailable  condition.  It  is  dead  capital. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  make  myself  understood,  though  I  would 
like  to  do  sc,  because  I  am  sure  there  is  no  point  in  scientific  farm- 
ing of  greater  importance.  Mr.  Geddes  calls  grass  the  "pivotal 
crop''  of  American  agriculture.  He  deserves  our  thanks  for  tho 
word  and  the  idea  connected  with  it.  But  I  am  inclined  to  think 
the  pivot  on  which  our  agriculture  stands  and  rotates,  lies  deeper 
than  this.  The  grass  crop  creates  nothing — developes  nothing. 
The  untilled  and  unmanured  grass  lands  of  Herkimer  County,  in 
this  State,  are  no  richer  to-day  than  they  were  50  years  ago.  The 
pastures  of  Cheshire,  England,  except  those  that  have  been  top- 
dressed  with  bones,  or  other  manures,  are  no  more  productive  than 


HOW   TO   MAKE   MANTJKE.  41 

they  were  centuries  back.  Grass  alone  will  not  make  rich  land. 
It  is  n  good  "savings  bank."  It  gathers  up  and  saves  plant-food 
from  running  to  waste.  It  pays  a  good  interest,  and  is  a  capital 
institution.  But  the  real  source  of  fertility  must  be  looked  for  in 
tlu  stores  of  plant-food  lying  dormant  in  the  soil.  Tillage,  uncler- 
uraining,  and  thorough  cultivation,  are  the  means  by  which  we 
develop  and  render  this  plant-fooi  available.  Grass,  clover,  peas, 
or  any  other  crop  consumed  on  the  farm,  merely  affords  us  the 
means  of  saving  this  plant-food  and  making  it  pay  a  good  interest. 


CHAPTER    X. 
HOW    TO    MAKE   MANURE. 

If  we  have  the  necessary  materials,  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to 
make  manure ;  in  fact,  the  manure  will  make  itself.  We  some- 
times need  to  hasten  the  process,  and  to  see  that  none  of  the  fer- 
tilizing matter  runs  to  waste.  This  is  about  all  that  we  can  do. 
We  cannot  create  an  atom  of  plant-food.  It  is  ready  formed  to 
our  hands ;  but  we  must  know  where  to  look  for  it,  and  how  to 
gat  it  in  the  easiest,  cheapest,  and  bast  way,  and  how  to  save  and 
use  it.  The  science  of  manure-making  is  a  profound  study.  It  is 
intimately  connected  with  nearly  every  branch  of  agriculture. 

If  weeds  grow  and  decay  on  the  land,  they  make  manure.  If 
we  grow  a  crop  of  buckwheat,  or  spurry,  or  mustard,  or  rape,  or 
clover,  and  mow  it,  and  let  it  lie  on  the  land,  it  makes  manure ;  or 
if  we  plow  it  under,  it  forms  manure ;  or  if,  after  it  is  mown,  we 
rake  up  the  green  crop,  and  put  it  i'to  a  heap,  it  will  ferment, 
heat  will  be  produced  by  the  slow  combustion  of  a  portion  of  the 
carbonaceous  and  nitrogenous  matter,  and  the  result  will  be  a  mass 
of  material,  which  we  should  all  recognize  as  "  manure."  If,  in- 
stead of  putting  the  crop  into  a  heap  and  letting  it  ferment,  we 
feed  it  to  animals,  the  digestible  carbonaceous  and  nitrogenous 
matter  will  be  consumed  to  produce  animal  heat  and  to  sustain 
the  vital  functions,  and  the  refuse,  or  tho  solid  and  liquid  drop- 
pings of  the  animals,  will  be  manure. 

If  the  crop  rots  on  the  ground,  nothing  is  added  to  it.  If  it  fer- 
ments, and  gives  out  heat,  in  a  heap,  nothing  is  added  to  it.  If  it 


42  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

is  passed  through  an  animal,  and  produces  heat,  nothing  is  added 
to  it. 

I  have  heard  people  say  a  farmer  could  not  make  manure  unless 
he  kept  animals.  We  might  with  as  much  truth  say  a  farmer 
cannot  make  ashes  unless  he  keeps  stoves  ;  and  it  would  be  just 
as  sensible  to  take  a  4ot  of  stoves  into  the  woods  to  make  ashes,  as 
it  is  to  keep  a  lot  of  animals  merely  to  make  manure.  You  can 
make  the  ashes  by  throwing  the  wood  into  a  pile,  and  burning  it ; 
and  you  can  make  the  manure  by  throwing  the  material  out  01 
which  the  manure  is  to  be  made  into  a  pile,  and  letting  it  ferment. 
On  a  farm  where  neither  food  nor  manure  of  any  kind  is  pur- 
chased, the  only  way  to  make  manure  is  to  get  it  out  of  the  land. 

"  From  the  land  and  from  the  atmosphere,"  remarked  the  Doc- 
tor. "  Plants  get  a  large  portion  of  the  material  of  which  they  are 
composed  from  the  atmosphere." 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  u  but  it  is  principally  carbonaceous  matter, 
which  is  of  little  or  no  value  as  manure.  A  small  amount  of  am- 
monia and  nitric  acid  are  also  brought  to  the  soil  by  rains  and 
dews,  and  a  freshly-stirred  soil  may  also  sometimes  absorb  more 
or  less  ammonia  from  the  atmosphere  ;  but  while  t%,is  is  true,  so 
far  as  making  manure  is  concerned,  we  must  look  to  the  plant- 
food  existing  in  the  soil  itself. 

"  Take  such  a  farm  as  Mr.  Dewey's,  that  we  have  already 
referred  to.  No  manure  or  food  has  been  purchased  ;  or  at  any 
rate,  not  one-tenth  as  much  as  has  been  sold,  and  yet  the  farm  is 
more  productive  to-day  than  when  it  was  first  cleared  of  the  forest. 
He  has  developed  the  manure  from  the  stores  of  latent  plant-food 
previously  existing  in  the  soil  •  and  this  is  the  way  farmers  gen- 
erally make  manure." 


VALUE    OP   MANURE.  43 


CHAP  TEE     XI. 

THE  VALUE  OF  MANURE  DEPENDS  ON  THE  FOOD— 
NOT  ON  THE  ANIMAL. 

"  If,"  said  I,  "you  should  put  a  ton  of  cut  straw  in  a  heap,  wet  it, 
and  let  it  rot  down  into  manure ,  and  should  plac^  in  another  heap 
a  ton  of  cut  corn-fodder,  and  in  another  heap  a  ton  of  cut  clover- 
hay,  wet  them,  and  let  them  also  rot  down  into  manure ;  and  in 
another  heap  a  ton  of  pulped-turnips,  and  in  another  heap  a  ton 
of  corn-meal,  and  in  another  heap  a  ton  of  bran,  and  in  another  a 
ton  of  malt-sprouts,  and  let  them  be  mixed  with  water,  and  so 
treated  that  they  will  ferment  without  loss  of  ammonia  or  other 
valuable  plant-food,  I  think  no  one  will  say  that  all  these  different 
heaps  of  manure  will  have  the  same  value.  And  if  not,  why  not  ?  " 

u  Because,"  said  Charley,  "  the  ton  of  straw  does  not  contain  as 
much  valuable  plant-food  as  the  ton  of  corn-fodder,  nor  the  ton  of 
corn-fodder  as  much  as  the  ton  of  clover-hay." 

"  Now  then,"  said  I,  "  instead  of  putting  a  ton  of  straw  in  one 
heap  to  rot,  and  a  ton  of  corn-fodder  in  another  heap,  and  a  ton  of 
clover  in  another  heap,  we  feed  the  ton  of  straw  to  a  cow,  and  the 
ton  oC  corn-fodder  to  another  cow,  and  the  ton  of  clover  to  another 
cow,  and  save  all  the  solid  ancl  liquid  excrements,  will  the  manuro 
made  from  the  ton  of  straw  be  worth  as  much  as  the  manure  made 
from  the  ton  of  corn-fodder  or  clover-hay  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Charley.—"  Certainly  not,"  said  the  Doctor.—"  I  am 
not  so  sure  about  it,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  I  think  you  will  get  more 
manure  from  the  corn-fodder  than  from  the  straw  or  clover-hay." 

"  We  are  not  talking  about  bulk,"  said  the  Doctor,  "but  value." 
"  Suppose,  Deacon,"  said  he,  "  you  were  to  shut  up  a  lot  of  your 
Brahma  hens,  and  feed  them  a  ton  of  corn-meal,  and  should  also 
faed  a  ton  of  corn-meal  made  into  slops  to  a  lot  of  pigs,  and  should 
save  all  the  liquid  and  solid  excrements  from  the  pigs,  and  all  the 
manure  from  the  hens,  which  would  be  worth  the  most  ?"— "  The 
hen-manure,  of  course,"  said  the  Deacon,  who  has  great  faith  ill 
this  kind  of  "  guano,"  as  he  calls  it. 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  you  would  probably  not  get  more 
than  half  a  ton  of  manure  from  the  hens,  while  the  liquid  and 
solid  excrements  from  the  pigs,  if  the  corn-meal  was  made  into  a 
thin  slop,  would  weigh  two  or  three  tons." 


44  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

u  More,  too,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  way  you  feed  your  store 
pigs." 

44  Very  well ;  and  yet  you  say  that  the  half  ton  of  hen-manure 
made  from  a  ton  of  corn  is  worth  more  than  the  two  or  three  tons 
of  pig-manure  made  from  a  ton  of  corn.  You  do  not  seem  to 
think,  after  all,  that  mere  bulk  or  weight  adds  anything  to  the 
value  of  tue  manure.  Why  then  should  you  say  that  the  manure 
from  a  ton  of  corn-fodder  is  worth  more  than  from  a  ton  of  straw, 
because  it  is  more  bulky  ?  " 

44  You,  yourself,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  also  say  the  manure  from 
tlie  ton  of  corn-fodder  is  worth  more  than  from  the  ton  of 
straw." — u  True,"  said  I  "  but  not  because  it  is  more  bulky.  It  is 
worth  more  because  the  ton  of  corn-fodder  contains  a  greater 
quantity  of  valuable  plant-food  than  the  ton  of  straw.  The  clover 
is  still  riclier  in  this  valuable  plant-food,  and  the  manure  is  much 
more  valuable  ;  in  fact,  the  manure  from  the  ton  of  clover  is  worth 
as  much  as  the  manure  from  the  ton  cf  straw  and  the  ton  of  corn- 
fodder  together." 

"  I  would  like  to  see  you  prove  that,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  for  if 
it  is  true,  I  will  sell  no  more  clover-hay.  I  can't  get  as  much  for 
clover-hay  in  the  market  as  I  can  for  rye-straw." 

44 1  will  not  attempt  to  prove  it  at  present,"  said  the  Doctor ; 
"  but  the  evidence  is  so  strong  and  so  conclusive  that  no  rational 
man,  who  will  study  the  subject,  can  fail  to  be  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  its  truth." 

u  The  value  of  manure,"  saLl  I,  "  does  not  depend  on  the  quan- 
tity of  water  wMch  it  contains,  or  on  the  quantity  of  sand,  or 
silica,  or  on  the  amount  of  woody  fibre  or  carbonaceous  matter. 
These  things  add  little  or  nothing  to  ite  fertilizing  value,  except  in 
rare  cases ;  and  the  sulphuric  acid  and  lime  are  worth  no  more 
than  the  same  quantity  of  sulphate  of  lime  or  gypsum,  and  the 
chlorine  and  soda  are  probably  worth  no  more  than  so  much  com- 
mon salt.  The  real  chemical  value  of  the  manure,  other  things 
being  equal,  is  in*proportion  to  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and 
potash,  that  the  manure  contains. 

"And  the  quantity  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash 
found  in  the  manure  is  determined,  other  things  being  equal,  by 
the  quantity  of  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash  contained 
in  the  food  consumed  by  the  animals  making  the  manure." 


FOODS    WHICH    MAKE    RICH   MANURE. 


45 


CHAPTEK    XII. 


FOODS    WHICH    MAKE    RICH    MANURE. 

The  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  contained 
in  different  foods,  has  been  accurately  determined  by  many  able 
and  reliable  chemists. 

The  following  table  was  prepare.!  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Lawes,  of  Roth- 
amstecl,  England,  and  was  first  published  in  this  country  in  the 
"  Genesee  Farmer,"  for  May,  1860.  Since  then,  it  has  been  re- 
peatedly published  in  nearly  all  the  leading  agricultural  journals 
of  the  world,  and  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  table,  with  some  recent  additions : 


PER  CENT. 

1 

Js 

11- 

»  **  &  ^ 
|.||l 

1 

| 

1   Linseed  cake 

88.0 
89.0 
89.0 
90.0 
81.0 
84.5 
84.0 
88.0 
94.0 
85.0 
88.0 
85.0 
84.0 
95.0 
86.0 
86.0 
86.0 
86.0 
84.0 
81.0 
82.5 
82.0 
84.0 
85.0 
83.0 
12.5 
11.0 
8.0 
24.0 
13.5 
15.0 

7.00 
8.00 
8.  CO 
4.00 
3.00 
2.40 
2.00 
3.00 
8.50 
1.75 
1.30 
1.70 
2.20 
2.60 
2.85 
5.60. 
6.20 
6.60 
7.50 
6.00 
5.55 
5.95 
5.00 
4  50 
5.50 
1.00 
.68 
.68 
1.00 
70 
1.00 

4.92 
7.00 
5.75 
3  38 
2.20 
.84 
.03 
1.89 
5.23 

1.13 
87 
.35 
.60 
.17 
6.44 
7.52 
7.95 
1.25 
0.88 
0.90 
0.85 
0.55 
0.37 
0.48 
0.09 
0.13 
0.11 
0.32 
0.13 
0.42 

1.65 
3.12 
1.76 
1.37 
1.27 
0.96 
0.66 
0.96 
2.12 

6!35 
0.50 
0.55 
0.65 
0.50 
.46 
.49 
.45 
.30 
.50 
.11 
0.89 
0.65 
0.03 
0.93 
0.25 
0.18 

OA3 
0.2'J 
0.36 

4.75 
6.50 
5.00 
3.80 
4.00 
3.40 
4.20 
4.30 
4.20 
1.25 
1.80 
1.80 
1.65 
1.70 
2.00 
2.60 
2.58 
2.55 
2.50 
1.50 
0.90 

6!e6 

0.50 
0.60 
0.25 
0.22 
0.18 
0.35 
0.20 
0.22 

19.72 
27.83 
21.01 
15.65 
15.75 
13.38 
16.75 
16.51 
18.21 
4.81 
6.65 
7.08 
6.32 
6.65 
7.70 
13.53 
14.36 
14.59 
9.64 
6.43 
3.87 
3.74 
2.68 
2.25 
2.90 
1.07 
91 
.86 
1.50 
.80 
1.14 

2.  Cotton-seed  cake  *.  .   .   . 
3   Rape-cake 

5    Beans                         

6   Peas 

7   Tares                  

8   Lentils 

9   Malt-du^t 

10.  Locust  beans  
11.  Indian-meal  
12    Wheat 

13    Barley 

14    Malt 

15.  Oats  
16    Fine  pollard  t 

17.  Coarse  pollard  j  
18.  Wheat-bran       

19.  Clover-hay  

20.  Meadow-hay  

21    Bean-straw 

22.  Pea-straw  

23    Wheat-straw              .     . 

24.  Barley-straw  

25.  Oat-  straw 

26.  Mangel-wurzel  

27.  Swedish  turnips 

28.  Common  turnips  

29.  Potatoes. 

30.  Carrots  
31.  Parsnips  

*  The  manure  from  a  ton  of  undecorticated  cott  m-seod  cake  is  worth  $15.74; 
that  from  a  ton  of  cotton-seed,  after  being  ground  and  sifted,  is  worth  $13.25. 
The  grinding  an-1  siftin?,  in  Mr.  Lawes1  experiments,  removed  about  8  percent 
of  husk  and  cotton.  Cotton-seed,  so  treated,  proved  to  be  a  very  rich  and 
economical  food.  t  Middlings,  Caniclle.  \  Shipstuff. 


46  TALKS    OX   MANURES. 

Of  all  vegetable  substances  used  for  food,  it  will  be  seen  that 
decorticated  cotton-seed  cake  is  the  richest  in  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash,  and  consequently  makes  the  richest  and 
most  valuable  manure.  According  to  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate,  the 
manure  from  a  ton  of  decorticated  cotton-seed  cake  is  worth  $.27.86 
in  gold. 

Rape-cake  comes  next.  Twenty-five  to  thirty  years  ago,  rape- 
cake,  ground  as  fine  as  corn-meal,  was  used  quite  extensively  on 
many  of  the  light-land  farms  of  England  as  a  manure  for  turnips, 
and  not  unfrequently  as  a  manure  for  wheat.  Mr.  Lawes  used  it 
for  many  years  in  his  experiments  on  turnips  and  on  wheat. 

Of  late  years,  however,  it  has  been  fed  to  sheep  and  cattle.  In 
other  words,  it  has  been  used,  not  as  formerly,  for  manure  alone, 
but  for  food  first,  and  manure  afterwards.  The  oil  and  other  car- 
bonaceous matter  which  the  cake  contains  is  of  little  value  for 
manure,  while  it  is  of  great  value  as  food.  The  animals  take  out 
this  carbonaceous  matter,  and  leave  nearly  all  the  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash  in  the  manure.  Farmers  who  had  found 
it  profitable  to  use  on  wheat  and  turnips  for  manure  alone,  found 
it  still  more  profitable  to  use  it  first  for  food,  and  theD  for  manure 
afterwards.  Mr.  Lawes,  it  will  be  seen,  estimates  the  manure  pro- 
duced from  the  consumption  of  a  ton  of  rape-cake  at  $21.01. 

Linseed-oil  cake  comes  next.  Pure  linseed-cake  is  exceedingly 
valuable,  both  for  food  and  manure.  It  is  a  favorite  food  with 
all  cattle  and  sheep  breeders  and  feeders.  It  has  a  wonderful 
effect  in  improving  the  appearance  of  cattle  and  sheep.  An  Eng- 
lish farmer  thinks  he  cannot  get  along  without  "cake"  for  his 
calves,  lambs,  cattle,  and  sheep.  In  this  country,  it  is  not  so  ex- 
tensively used,  except  by  the  breeders  of  improved  stock.  It  is  so 
popular  in  England  that  the  price  is  fully  up  to  its  intrinsic  value, 
and  not  unfrequently  other  foods,  in  proportion  to  the  nutritive 
and  manurial  value,  can  be  bought  cheaper.  This  fact  shows  the 
value  of  a  good  reputation.  Linseed-cake,  however,  is  often  adul- 
terated, and  farmers  need  to  be  cautious  who  they  deal  with. 
When  pure,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  manure  made  by  the  consump- 
tion of  a  ton  of  linseed-cake  is  worth  $19.72. 

Malt-dust  stands  next  on  the  list.  This  article  is  known  by  dif- 
ferent names.  In  England,  it  is  often  called  "  malt-combs  ;"  here 
it  is  known  as  " mult-sprouts"  or  u  malt-roots."  In  making  barley 
into  malt,  the  barley  is  soaked  in  water,  and  afterwards  kept  in  a 
•warm  room  until  it  germinates,  and  throws  out  sprouts  and  roots. 
It  is  then  dried,  and  before  the  malt  is  used,  these  dried  sprouts 
and  roots  are  sifted  out,  and  are  sold  for  cattle-food.  They  weigh 


FOODS   WHICH    MAKE    KICH   MANURE.  47 

from  22  to  25  Ibs.  per  bushel  of  40  quarts.  They  are  frequently 
mixed  at  the  breweries  with  the  "  grains,"  and  are  sold  to  milkmen 
at  the  same  price — from  12  to  15  cents  per  bushel.  Where  their 
value  is  not  known,  they  can,  doubtless,  be  sometimes  obtained  at 
a  mere  nominal  price.  Milkmen,  I  believe,  prefer  the  "  grains  "  to 
the  malt-dust.  The  latter,  however,  is  a  good  food -for  sheep.  It 
has  one  advantage  over  brewer's  "  grains."  The  latter  contain  76 
per  cent  of  water,  while  the  malt-dust  contains  only  6  per  cent  of 
water.  We  can  afford,  therefore,  to  transport  malt-dust  to  a 
greater  distance  than  the  grains.  We  do  not  want  to  carry  water 
many  miles.  There  is  another  advantage :  brewer's  grains  soon 
ferment,  and  become  sour ;  while  the  malt-dust,  being  dry,  will 
keep  for  any  length  of  time.  It  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Lawes  esti- 
mates the  value  of  the  manure  left  from  the  consumption  of  a  ton 
of  malt-dust  at  $18.21. 

Tares  or  vetches,  lentils,  linseed  or  flaxseed,  beans,  wheat,  bran, 
middlings,  fine  mill- feed,  undecorticatecl  cotton-seed  cake,  peas, 
and  cotton-seed,  stand  next  on  the  list.  The  value  of  these  for 
manure  ranging  from  $13.25  to  $16.75  per  ton. 

Then  comes  clover-hay.  Mr.  Lawes  estimates  the  value  of  the 
manure  from  the  consumption  of  a  ton  of  clover-hay  ct  $9.64. 
This  is  from  early  cut  clover-hay. 

When  clover  is  allowed  to  grow  until  it  is  nearly  out  of  flower, 
the  hay  would  not  contain  so  much  nitrogen,  and  would  not  be 
worth  quite  so  much  per  ton  for  manure.  When  mixed  with 
timothy  or  other  grasses,  or  with  weeds,  it  would  not  be  so  valu- 
able. The  above  estimate  is  for  the  average  quality  of  good  pure 
English  clover-hay.  Our  best  farmers  raise  clover  equally  cs 
good ;  but  I  have  ssen  much  clover-hay  that  certainly  would  not 
come  up  to  this  standard.  Still,  even  our  common  clover-hay 
makes  rich  manure.  In  Wolft's  Table,  given  in  the  appendix,  it 
will  be  seen  that  clover-hay  contains  only  1.97  per  cent  of  nitro- 
gen and  5.7  per  cent  of  ash.  Mr.  Lawes'  clover  contains  more 
nitrogen  and  ash.  This  means  richer  land  and  a  less  mature  con- 
dition of  the  crop. 

The  cereal  grains,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  Indian  corn,  stand 
next  on  the  list,  being  worth  from  $6.82  to  $7.70  per  ton  for 
manure. 

"  Meadow-hay,"  which  in  the  table  is  estimated  as  worth  $6.43 
per  ton  for  manure,  is  the  hay  from  permanent  meadows.  It  is  a 
quite  different  article  from  the  "  English  Meadow-hay  "  of  New 
England.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  perfection  of  hny.  The  meadows  are  fre- 
quently top-dressed  with  composted  manure  or  artificial  fertilizers, 


43  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

and  the  hay  is  composed  of  a  number  of  the  best  grasses,  cut  early 
and  carefully  cured.  It  will  be  noticed,  however,  that  even  laid 
choice  meadow-hay  is  not  as  valuable  for  manuro  as  clover-hay. 

English  bean-straw  is  estimated  as  worth  $3.87  per  ton  for 
manure.  The  English  "  horse  bean,"  which  is  the  kind  here 
alluded  to,  has  a  very  stiff,  coarse  long  straw,  and  looks  as  though 
it  was  much  inferior  as  fodder,  to  the  straw  of  our  ordinary  white 
baans.  See  Wolff's  table  in  the  appendix. 

Pea-straw  is  estimated  at  $3. 74  per  ton.  When  the  peas  arc  not  al- 
lowed to  grow  until  dead  ripe,  and  when  the  straw  is  carefully  cured, 
it  makes  capital  food  for  sheep.  Taking  the  grain  and  straw 
together,  it  will  be  seen  that  peas  are  an  unusually  valuable  crop  to 
grow  for  the  purpose  of  making  rich  manure. 

The  straw  of  oats,  wheat,  and  barley,  is  worth  from  $2.25  to  $2.90 
per  ton.  Barley  straw  being  the  poorest  for  manure,  and  oat  straw 
the  richest. 

Potatoes  are  worth  $1.50  per  ton,  or  nearly  5  cents  a  bushel  for 
manure. 

The  manurial  value  of  roots  varies  from  80  conts  a  ton  for 
carrots,  to  $1.07  for  mangel-wurzel,  and  $1.14  for  parsnips. 

I  am  very  anxious  that  there  should  be  no  misapprehension  as 
to  the  meaning  of  these  figures.  I  am  sure  they  are  well  worth 
the  careful  study  of  every  intelligent  farmer.  Mr.  Lawes  has  been 
engaged  in  making  experiments  for  over  thirty  years.  There  is  no 
man  more  competent  to  speak  with  authority  on  such  a  subject. 
The  figures  showing  the  money  value  of  the  manure  made  from 
the  different  foods,  are  based  on  the  amount  of  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  an:l  potash,  which  they  contain.  Mr.  Lawes  has  been 
buying  and  using  artificial  manures  for  many  years,  and  is  quito 
competent  to  form  a  correct  conclusion  as  to  the  cheapest  sources 
of  obtaining  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash.  He  has  cer- 
tainly not  overestimated  tjeir  cost.  They  can  not  be  bought  at 
lower  rates,  either  in  England  or  America.  But  of  course  it  docs 
not  follow  from  this  that  these  manures  are  worth  to  the  farmer 
the  price  charged  for  them ;  that  is  a  matter  depending  on  many 
conditions.  All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  if  yon  are  going  to  bny 
commercial  manures,  you  will  have  to  pay  at  lenst  as  much  frr  the 
nitrojen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  as  th.2  price  fixe:l  upon  by 
Mr.  Lawes.  And  you  should  recollect  that  there  are  other  in- 
gredients in  the  manure  ob*,ained  from  the  food  of  animals,  which 
are  not  estimated  as  of  any  valm  in  the  table.  For  instance,  there 
is  a  large  amount  of  carbonaceous  matter  in  tlic  manure  of  animals, 


FOODS    WHICH    MAKE   RICH    MANUKE.  49 

which,  for  some  crops,  is  not  without  value,  but  which  is  not  here 
taken  into  account. 

Viewed  from  a  farmer's  stand-point,  the  table  of  money  values 
must  be  taken  only  in  a  corifparative  sense.  It  is  not  claimed  that 
the  manure  from  a  ton  of  wueat-straw  is  worth  $2.08.  Tuis  may, 
or  may  not,  be  the  c^se.  But  if  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  wheat- 
straw  is  worth  $2.68,  then  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  pea-straw  is 
worth  $3.74,  and  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  corn-meal  is  worth 
$3.65,  anJ.  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  clover-hay  is  worth  $9.64, 
ancl  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  wheat-bran  is  worth  $14.59.  If  the 
manure  from  a  ton  of  corn  meal  is  not  worth  $6.65,  then  the 
manure  from  a  ton  of  bran  is  not  worth  $14.59.  If  the  manure 
from  the  ton  of  corn  is  worth  more  than  $6.65,  then  the  manure 
from  a  ton  of  bran  is  worth  more,  than  $14.59.  There  need  be  no 
doubt  on  this  point. 

Settle  in  your  own  mind  what  tbe  manure  from  a  ton  of  any  one 
of  the  foods  mentioned  is  worth  on  your  farm,  and  you  can  easily 
calculate  what  the  manure  is  worth  from  all  the  others.  If  you 
say  that  t!ie  manure  from  a  ton  of  wheat-straw  is  worth  $1.34,  then 
tb.3  manure  from  a  ton  of  Indian  corn  is  worth  $3.33,  and  tho 
manure  from  a  ton  of  bran  is  worth  $7.30,  and  the  manure  from  a 
ton  of  clover-hay  is  worth  $4.82. 

In  this  section,  however,  few  good  farmers  are  willing  to  sell 
Straw,  though  tfiey  can  get  from  $8.00  to  $10.00  per  ton  for  it. 
They  think  it  must  be  consumed  on  the  farm,  or  used  for  bedding, 
or  their  land  will  run  down.  I  do  not  say  they  are  wrong,  but  I 
do  say,  tliat  if  a  Ion  of  straw  is  worth  $2.68  for  manure  alone,  then 
a  ton  of  clover-hay  is  worth  $9.64  for  manure  alone.  This  may 
bo  accepted  as  a  general  truth,  and  one  which  a  farmer  can  act 
upon.  And  so,  too,  in  regard  to  the  value  of  corn-meal,  bran,  an  1 
all  the  other  articles  riven  in  the  table. 


There  is  another  point  of  great  importance  which  should  b3  men- 
tioned in  this  connection.  The  nitrogen  in  the  better  class  cf 
foods  is  worth  more  for  manure  than  the  nitrogen  in  straw,  corn- 
stalks, and  other  coarse  fodder.  Nearly  all  the  nitrogen  in  grain, 
and  other  rich  foods,  is  digested  by  the  animals,  and  is  voided  in 
solution  in  the  urine.  In  other  words,  the  nitrogen  in  the  manure 
is  in  an  active  and  available  condition.  On  the  other  hand,  only 
about  half  the  nitrogen  in  the  coarse  fodders  and  straw  is  digesti- 
ble. The  other  half  passes  off  in  a  crude  and  comparatively  un- 
available condition,  in  the  solid  excrement.  In  estimating  the  value 
of  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  food,  these  facts  should  be  remembered. 
3 


50  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

I  have  said  that  if  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  straw  Is  worth  $2.68, 
the  manure  from  a  ton  of  corn  is  worth  $6.65 ;  but  I  will  not  reverse 
the  proposition,  and  say  that  if  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  corn  is 
worth  $6.65,  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  straw  is  worth  $2.68.  The 
manure  from  the  grain  is  nearly  all  in  an  available  condition,  while 
that  from  the  straw  is  not.  A  pound  of  nitrogen  in  rich  manure 
is  worth  more  than  a  pound  of  nitrogen  in  poor  manure.  This  is 
another  reason  why  we  should  try  to  make  rich  manure. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

HORSE   MANURE    AND    FARM- YARD   MANURE. 

The  manure  from  horses  is  generally  considered  richer  and  better 
than  that  from  cows.  This  is  not  always  the  case,  though  it  is 
probably  so  as  a  rule.  There  are  three  princip.il  reasons  for  this. 
1st.  The  horse  is  usually  fed  more  grain  and  hay  than  the  cow. 
In  other  words,  the  food  of  the  horse  is  usually  richer  in  the  val- 
uable elements  of  plant-food  than  the  ordinary  food  of  the  cow. 
21.  The  milk  of  the  cow  abstracts  considerable  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  etc.,  from  the  food,  and  to  this  extent  there  is  less  of 
these  valuable  substances  in  the  excrements.  3d.  The  excrements 
of  the  cow  contain  much  more  water  than  those  of  the  horse.  And 
consequently  a  ton  of  cow -dung,  other  things  being  equal,  would 
not  contain  as  much  actual  manure  as  a  ton  of  horse-dung. 

Boussingauit,  who  is  eminently  trustworthy,  gives  us  the  follow- 
ing interesting  facts  : 

A  horse  consumed  m  24  hours,  20  Ibs.  of  hay,  6  Ibs.  of  oats,  and 
43  Ibs.  of  water,  and  voided  during  the  same  period,  3  Ibs.  7  ozs. 
of  urine,  and  38  Ibs.  2  ozs.  of  solid  excrements. 

The  solid  excrements  contained  23^  Ibs.  of  wa'er,  and  the  urine 
2  Ihs.  6  ozs.  of  water. 

According  to  this,  a  hors»%  eating  20  Ibs.  of  hay,  aiid  6  Ibs.  of  oats, 
per  day,  voids  in  a  year  nearly  seven  tons  of  solid  excrements,  and 
1,255  Ibs.  of  urine. 

It  would  seem  that  there  must  have  been  some  mistake  in  col- 
lecting the  urine,  or  what  was  probably  the  case,  that  some  of  it 
must  have  been  absorbed  by  the  dung ;  for  3*  pints  of  urine  per 
day  is  certainly  much  less  than  is  usually  voided  by  a  horse. 


HORSE   HANUilE    AND   FARM-YARD    MANURE.  51 

Stockard  gives  the  amount  of  urine  voided  by  a  horse  in  a  year 
ai  3,000  Ibs. ;  a  cow,  8,000  Ibs. ;  sheep,  380  Ibs. ;  pig,  1,200  Ibs. 

Dr.  Vo3lcker,  at  the  Royal  Agricultural  College,  at  Cirencester, 
England,  made  some  valuable  investigations  in  regard  to  the  com- 
position of  farm-yard  manure,  and  the  changes  which  take  place 
during  fermentation. 

The  manure  was  composed  of  horse,  cow,  and  pig-dung,  mixed 
with  the  straw  used  for  bedding  in  the  stalls,  pig-pens,  sheds,  etc. 

On  the  3d  of  November,  1854,  a  sample  of  what  Dr.  Vffilckei 
calls  "  Fresh  Long  Dung,"  was  taken  from  the  "  manure-pit "  foi 
analysis.  It  had  Tain  in  the  pit  or  heap  about  14  days. 

The  following  is  the  result  of  the  analysis : 

FRESH    FARM-YARD    MANURE. 

HALF  A  TON,  OR  1,000  LBS. 

Water 661.7  Ibs. 

Organic  matter 2s2.4  " 

Ash 55.9  " 

1,000.0  Ibs. 
Nitrogen 6.43  « 

"  Before  you  go  any  farther,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  let  me  under- 
stand what  these  figures  mean  ?  Do  you  mean  that  a  ton  of 
manure  contains  only  12|  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  and  111  Ibs.  of  ash,  and 
that  all  the  rest  is  carbonaceous  matter  and  water,  of  little  or  no 
value  "  ? — "  That  is  it  precisely,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "  and  further- 
more, a  large  part  of  the  ash  has  very  little  fertilizing  value,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  following : 

DETAILED  COMPOSITION  OP  THE  ASH  OF  FRESH  BARN-YARD  MANURE. 

Soluble  silica 21.59 

Insoluble  silicious  matter  (sand) 10.04 

Phosphate  of  Urns 5.35 

Oxide  of  iron,  alumina,  with  phosphate 8.47 

Containing  phosphoric  acid 3.18 

Lime 21.31 

Magnesia , 2.76 

Potash 12.04 

Soda 1.30 

Chloride  of  sodium 0.54 

Sulphuric  acid  1.49 

Carbonic  acid  and  loss 15.11 

100.00 

Nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  are  the  most  valuable  in- 
gredients in  manure.  It  will  be  seen  that  a  ton  of  fresh  barn-yard 
manure,  of  probably  good  average  quality,  contains: 

Nitrogen 1?*  Ibs. 

Phosphoric  acid  61  " 

Potash 13i  " 


52  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

I  do  not  say  that  these  are  the  only  ingredients  of  any  value  in 
a  ton  of  manure.  Nearly  all  the  other  ingredients  aie  indispen- 
sable to  the  growth  of  plants,  and  if  we  should  use  manures  con- 
taining nothing  but  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  the 
time  would  come  when  the  crops  would  fail,  froui  lack  of  a 
sufficient  quantity  of,  perhaps,  magnesia,  or  lime,  sulphuric  acid,  or 
soluble  silica,  or  iron.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  provision 
for  such  a  contingency.  It  would  be  a  very  exceptional  case. 
Farmers  who  depend  mainly  on  barn-yard  manure,  or  on  plowing 
under  green  crops  for  keeping  up  the  fertility  of  the  land,  may 
safely  calculate  that  the  value  of  the  manure  is  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  it  contains. 

We  draw  out  a  ton  of  fresh  manure  and  spread  it  on  the  land, 
therefore,  in  order  to  furnish  the  growing  crops  with  12£  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen,  GJ  Ibs.  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  13  J  Ibs.  of  potash. 
Less  than  33  Ibs.  in  all  ! 

We  cannot  dispense  with  farm  yard  manure.  We  can  seldom 
buy  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  as  cheaply  as  we  can 
get  them  in  home-made  manures.  But  we  should  clearly  under- 
stand the  fact  that  we  draw  out  2,000  Ibs.  of  matter  in  order  to 
get  33  Ibs.  of  thes?  fertilizing  ingredients.  We  should  try  to 
make  richer  manure.  A  ton  of  manurs  containing  60  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  costs  no  more  to  draw  out 
and  spread,  than  a  ton  containing  only  30  Ibs.,  and  it  would  be 
worth  nearly  or  quite  double  the  money. 

How  to  make  richer  manure  we  will  not  discuss  at  this  time.  It 
is  a  question  of  food.  But  it  is  worth  while  to  enquire  if  we  can 
not  take  such  manure  as  we  have,  and  reduce  its  weight  and  bulk 
without  losing  any  of  its  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash. 


CHAPTER.     XIV. 
FERMENTING   MANURE. 

Dr.  Vcelcker  placed  2,838  Ibs.  of  fresh  mixed  manure  in  a  heap 
Nov.  3, 1854,  and  the  next  spring,  April  30,  it  weighed  2,020  Ibs., 
a  shrinkage  in  weight  of  28.6  per  cent.  In  other  words  100  tons 
of  sach  manure  would  be  reduced  to  less  than  71£  tons. 

The  heap  was  weighed  again,  August  23d,  and  contained  1,994 
Ibs.  It  was  again  weighed  Nov.  15,  and  contained  1,97-4  Ibs 


FERMENTING    MANURE. 


53 


The  following  table  shows  the  composition  of  the  heap  when 
first  put  up,  and  also  at  the  three  subsequent  periods : 

TABLE  SHOWING  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  WHOLE  HEAP  ;  FRESH  FARM-YARD  MANURE 
(NO.  I.)  EXPOSED- EXPRESSED  IN  LBS. 


When  put 
up  Nov. 
3,  1854. 

April    30. 

1855. 

Auq.  23, 
1855. 

Nw.  15, 
1855. 

Weight  of  manure  ill  Ibs  .  .  . 

2  838 

2  026 

-i  004. 

Amt.  of  water  in  the  manure  
Aint.  of  dry  matter  iii  the  manure  
Consisting  of  — 
Soluble  organic  matter  f 
Solui>le  mineral  matter  I 

1,877.9 
960.1 

70.88 
4:3  71 

1.336.1 
689.9 

86.51 

57  S8 

1,505.3 

488.7 

58.S3 
89  16 

1,4665 
507.5 

54.04 

36  89 

Insoluble  organic  matter                    , 

731  07 

389  74 

243  °2 

214  9° 

Insoluble  mineral  matter  ^ 

11494 

155  77 

147  49 

201  65 

Containing  nitrogen  

960.1 
4  22 

689.9 
607 

48S.7 
3  76 

507.5 
3  65 

Equal  to  ammonia 

5  12 

7  37 

4  56 

4  36 

Containing  nitrogen  

14.01 

12  07 

<)  gg 

9  38 

Equal  to  ammonia 

17  02 

14  65 

11  40 

11  39 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  manure. 
Equal  to  ammonia  

18.23 
22.14 

18.14 
3202 

13.14 
15  96 

13.Q3 
15  75 

The  manure  contains  ammonia   in 
free  state 

96 

15 

20 

|1 

The  manure   contains  ammonia   in 
form  of  salts,  easily  decomposed  by 
quicklime 

2  49 

1  71 

75 

80 

Total  amount  of  organic  matters... 
Total  amount  of  mineral  matters.  .  . 

801.45 
15S.15 

476.25 
213.65 

302.05 
186.65 

2r8.96 
238.54 

"  It  will  be  remarked,"  says  Dr.  Vrelcker,  "  that  in  the  first  ex- 
perimental period,  the  fermentation  of  the  dung,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  proceeded  most  rapidly,  but  that,  notwithstanding, 
very  little  nitrogen  was  dissipated  in  the  form  of  volatile  ammonia ; 
and  that  on  the  whole,  the  loss  which  the  manure  sustained  wcs 
inconsiderable  when  compared  with  tbe  enormous  waste  to  which 
it  was  subject  in  the  subsequent  warmer  and  more  rainy  seasons  of 
the  year.  Thus  we  find  at  the  end  of  April  very  nearly  the  same 
amount  of  nitrogen  which  is  contained  in  the  fresh;  whereas,  at 
the  end  of  August,  27  9  per  cent  of  the  total  nitrogen,  or  nearly 
one-third  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  manure,  has  been  wasted  in  one 
way  or  tbe  other. 

"It  is  worthy  of  observation,"  continues  Dr.  Yoelckcr,  "that, 
during  n  well-regulated  fermentation  of  dung,  the  loss  in 
intrinsically  valuable  constituents  is  inconsiderable,  and  that  in 
such  a  prepnratory  process  the  cfficicy  of  the  minure  becomes  greatly 
enhanced.  For  certain  purposes  i'resh  dung  can  never  take  the 


54 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


place  of  well-rotted  dung.  *  *  The  farmer  will,  therefore,  al- 
ways be  compelled  to  submit  a  portion  of  home-made  dun*.;  to 
fermentation,  and  will  find  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  this  pro- 
cess, when  well  regulated,  is  not  attended  with  any  serious  de- 
preciation of  the  value  of  the  manure.  In  the  foregoing  analyses 
he  will  find  the  direct  proof  that  as  long  as  heavy  showers  of  rain 
are  excluded  from  man  are-heaps,  or  the  manure  is  kept  in  water- 
proof pits,  the  most  valuable  fertilizing  matters  are  preserved." 

This  experiment  of  Dr.  Vcelcker  proves  conclusively  that  manure 
can  be  kept  in  a  rapid  state  of  fermentation  for  six  months  during 
winter,  with  little  loss  of  nitrogen  or  other  fertilizing  matter. 

During  fermentation  a  portion  of  the  insoluble  matter  of  the 
dung  becomes  soluble,  and  if  the  manure  is  then  kept  in  a  heap 
exposed  to  rain^ there  is  a  great  loss  of  fertilizing  matter.  This  is 
precisely  what  we  should  expect.  We  ferment  manure  to  make  it 
more  readily  available  as  plant-food,  and  when  we  have  attained 
our  object,  the  manure  shoull  be  applied  to  the  land.  We  keep 
winter  apples  in  the  cellar  until  they  get  ripe.  As  soon  as  they  are 
ripe,  they  should  be  eaten,  or  they  will  rapidly  decay.  This  is  well 
understood.  And  it  should  be  equally  well  known  that  manure, 
after  it  has  been  fermenting  in  a  heap  for  six  months,  cannot  safely 
be  kept  for  another  six  months  exposed  to  the  weather. 

The  following  table  shows  the  composition  of  100  Ibs.  of  the 
farm-yard  manure,  at  different  periods  of  the  year  :  - 

COMPOSITION   OF    100   LBS.    OF  FRESH   FARM- YARD   MANURE    (NO.   I.)   EXPOSED    IN 
NATURAL  STATE,  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS  OF  THE  YEAR. 


Whenput 
np.  Nov. 
3,  1854. 

Feb    14, 
1855. 

Apr.  30, 
1855. 

Auff.M. 

1855. 

Nov.  15, 

1855. 

Water  
Soluble  organic  matter  
Soluble  inorganic  matter  
Insoluble  organic  matter  

60.17 
2.43 
1.54 

25.70 

69.83 
3.86 
2.97 
18.44 

05.95 
4.27 
2.80 
19.23 

75.49 
2.95 
1.97 
12.20 

7429 

2.74 
1.R7 
1089 

Insoluble  mineral  matter  
Containing  nitrogen 

4.05 

100.00 
149 

4.90 

100.00 

27 

7.09 

100.00 
30 

7.39 

KXMxT 
19 

10.21 

100.00 
18 

Equal  to  ammonia  .  ... 

181 

33 

30 

23 

21 

Containing  nitrogen  

.494 

.47 

.59 

47 

.47 

Equal  to  ammonia 

509 

57 

71 

02 

57 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  

.013 

.74 

.89 

66 

65 

Equal  to  ammonia 

7HO 

89 

1  07 

85 

78 

Ammonia  in  a  free  state  
Ammonia  in  form  of  salts  easily  de- 
composed by  quicklime  
Total  arnt.  of  organic  matter  
Total  amt.  of  miner.il  substances.. 

.034 

.088 
28.24 
5.59 

.019 

.004 
22.30 

7.87 

.008 

.085 
23.50 
10.55 

.010 

.038 
15.15 
9  80 

.006 

.041 
13.03 
12  OS 

It  will  be  seen  that  two-thirds  of  the  fresh  manure  is  water. 
Afte"r  fermenting  in  an  exposed  heap  for  six  months,  it  still  con- 


FERMENTING    MANURE. 


55 


tains  about  the  same  percentage  of  water.  When  kept  in  the  Leap 
until  August,  the  percentage  of  water  is  much  greater.  Of  four 
tons  of  such  manure,  three  to.;s  are  water. 

Of  Nitrogen,  the  most  valuable  ingredient  of  the  manure,  the 
fresh  dung,  contained  0.64  per  cent ;  after  fermenting  six  months,  it 
contained  0.89  per  cent.  Six  months  later,  it  contained  0.65  per 
cent,  or  about  the  same  amount  as  the  fresh  manure. 

Of  mineral  matter,  or  ash,  this  fresh  farm-yard  manure  con- 
tained 5.59  per  cent;  of  which  1.54  was  soluble  in  water,  and  4.05 
insoluble.  After  fermenting  in  the  heap  for  six  months,  the  ma- 
nure contained  10.55  per  cent  of  ash,  of  which  2.86  was  soluble, 
and  7.69  insoluble.  Six  months  later,  the  soluble  ash  had  de- 
creased to  1.97  per  cent. 

The  following  table  shows  the  composition  of  the  manure,  at 
different  periods,  in  the  dry  stzte.  In  other  words,  supposing  all 
the  water  to.be  removed  from  the  manure,  its  composition  would 
be  as  follows : 

COMPOSITION  OP  JT.ESH  FAF.M  YAKD  MANURE  (NO.  I.)  EXPOSED.     CALCULATED  DET. 


Whenput 
up,  Mov. 
8,  1854. 

7.33 
4.55 
76.15 
11.97 

Feb. 

14, 
1855. 

April 
30, 

1855. 

Aug. 
23, 
1855. 

Nov. 
15, 

1855. 

10.65 
7.27 
42.35 
39.73 

Soluble  organic  matter        

12.79 
9.84 
61.12 
16.25 

12.54 

8.3:) 

56.<19 
22.58 

12.04 
8.03 
49.77 
30.16 

Soluble  inorganic  matter 

Insoluble  organic  matter  

Insoluble  mineral  matter  . 

Containing  nitrogen  

100.00 

.44 
.53 
1.46 
1.77 
1.90 
2.30 
.10 

.26 
83.48 
10.52 

100.00 

.91 
1.10 
1.55 

1.88 
2.4G 
2.98 
.062 

.212 

73/>l 
£6.09 

100.00 

.83 
1.06 
1.75 
2.12 
2.K3 
3.1R 
.023 

24^ 
60.03 
30.97 

1CO.OO 

.77 
.03 
1.92 
2.33 
2.r,o 
3.26 
.011 

.154 
61.81 
S8.19 

1CO.OO 

.72 
.83 
1.85 
2.24 
2.57 
3.12 
.0^3 

.159 

53.00 
47.00 

Equal  to  ammonia  

Equal  to  ammonia  

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  

Equal  to  ammonia  

Ammonia  in  free  state 

Ammonia  in  form  of  salts  easily  decom 
posed  by  quicklime  
Total  amount  of  organic  matter  
Total  amount  of  mineral  substances  . 

"  A  comparison  of  these  different  analyses,"  says  Dr.  Vcelcker, 
"  points  out  clearly  the  changes  which  fresh  farm-yard  manure  un- 
dergoes on  keeping  in  a  heap,  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the 
weather  during  a  period  of  twelve  months  and  twelve  days. 

"  1.  It  will  be  perceived  that  the  proportion  of  organic  matter 
steadily  diminishes  from  month  to  month,  until  the  original  per- 
centage of  organic  matter  in  the  dry  manure,  amounting  to  83.48 
per  cent,  becomes  reduced  to  53  per  cent. 

"2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  total  percentage  of  mineral  matter 
rises  as  steadily  as  that  of  the  organic  matter  falls. 


56  TALKS  ON  MANUEES. 

"  3.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  loss  in  organic  matter  affects  the 
percentage  of  insoluble  organic  matters  more  than  the  percentage 
of  soluble  organic  substances. 

44  4.  The  percentage  of  soluble  organic  matters,  indeed,  increased 
considerably  during  the  first  experimental  period  ;  it  rose,  namely, 
from  7.83  per  cent  to  12.79  per  cent.  Examined  again  on  the  30th 
of  April,  very  nearly  the  same  percentage  of  soluble  organic  matter, 
as  on  February  the  14th,  was  found.  The  August  analysis  shows 
but  a  slight  decrease  in  the  percentage  of  soluble  organic  matters, 
while  there  is  a  decrease  cf  2  per  cent  of  soluble  organic  matters 
when  the  November  analysis  is  compared  with  the  February  an- 
alysis. 

"  5.  The  soluble  mineral  matters  in  this  manure  rise  or  fall  in 
the  different  experimental  periods  in  the  same  order  as  the  soluble 
organic  matters.  Thus,  in  February,  9.84  per  cent  of  soluble 
mineral  matters  were  found,  whilst  the  manure  contained  only  4.55 
per  cent,  when  put  up  into  a  heap  in  November,  1854.  Gradual!}^ 
however,  the  proportion  of  soluble  mineral  matters  again  dimin- 
ished, and  became  reduced  to  7.27  per  cent,  on  the  examination  of 
the  manure  in  November,  1855. 

"  6.  A  similar  regularity  will  be  observed  in  the  percentage  of 
nitrogen  contained  in  the  soluble  organic  matters. 

"In  the  insoluble  organic  matters,  the  percentage  of  nitrogen 
regularly  increased  from  November,  1854,  up  to  the  23d  of  Au- 
gust, notwithstanding  the  rapid  diminution  of  the  percentage  of 
insoluble  organic  matter.  For  the  last  experimental  period,  the 
percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  insoluble  matter  is  nearly  the  same 
as  on  August  23d. 

"  8.  With  respect  to  the  total  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  fresh 
manure,  examined  at  different  periods  of  the  year,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  February  manure  contains  about  one-half  per  cent  more 
of  nitrogen  than  the  manure  in  a  perfectly  fresh  state.  On  the 
30th  of  April,  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  again  slightly  increased; 
on  August  23d,  it  remained  stationary,  and  had  sunk  but  very  lit- 
tle when  last  examined  on  the  15th  of  November,  1855. 

"  This  series  of  analyses  thus  shows  that  fresh  farm-yard  manure 
rapidly  becomes  more  soluble  in  water,  but  that  this  desirable 
change  is  realized  at  the  expense  of  a  large  proportion  of  organic 
matters.  It  likewise  proves,  in  an  unmistakable  manner,  that 
there  is  no  advantage  in  keeping  farm-yard  manure  for  too  long  a 
period  ;  for,  after  February,  neither  the  percentage  of  soluble  or- 
ganic, nor  that  of  soluble  mineral  matter,  has  become  greater, 


FEI1MEXTING    MANURE. 


57 


and  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  manure  of  April  and  August 
is  only  a  very  little  higher  than  in  February." 

"  Before  you  go  any  further,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  answer  wz 
this  question :  Suppose  I  take  five  tons  of  farm-yard  manure,  and  put 
it  in  a  heap  on  the  3d  of  November,  tell  me,  1st,  what  that  heap 
will  contain  when  first  made;  3d,  what  the  heap  will  contain 
April  30th  ;  and,  3.1,  what  the  heap  will  contain  August  23d." 

Here  is  the  table : 

CONTENTS  OP  A  HEAP  OF  MANURE  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS,  EXPOSED  TO  RAIN,  ETC. 


When  put 
up,  Aov. 
3. 

April  30. 

Aug.  23. 

Nov.  15. 

Total  weight  of  manure  in  heap  
Water  in  the  heap  of  manurj  

10,000 
6,617 
2  824 

7,138 
4707 
l'G78 

7,025 
5.304 
1.0o4 

6.954 

5,167 

!)47 

Total  inorganic  matter        

55!) 

753 

657 

840 

Total  nitrogen  in  heap 

64  3 

63.9 

463 

46.0 

Total  soluble  organic  matter  
Total  insoluble  organic  mutter  
Soluble  mineral  matter  

248 
2,575 
154 

305 
1.373 
204 

207 
857 
133 

190 
757 
130 

Insoluble  mineral  matter  
Nitrogen  in  soluble  matter     

405 

14.9 

549 
21.4 

519 
13.2 

710 
12.9 

Nitrogen  in  insoluble  matter  

49.4 

43.5 

33.1 

33.1 

The  Deacon  put  on  his  spectacles  and  studied  the  above  table 
carefully  for  some  time.  "That  tells  the  whole  story,"  said  he, 
"  you  put  five  tons  o^  fresh  manure  in  a  heap,  it  ferments  and  gets 
warm,  and  nearly  one  ton  of  water  is  driven  off  by  the  heat." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  you  see  that  over  half  a  ton  (1,146  Ibs.) 
of  dry  organic  matter  has  been  slowly  burnt  up  in  the  heap ;  giv- 
ing out  as  much  heat  as  half  a  ton  of  coal  burnt  in  a  stove.  But 
this  is  not  all.  The  manure  is  cooked,  and  steamed,  and  softened 
by  the  process.  The  organic  matter  burnt  up  is  of  no  value. 
There  is  little  or  no  loss  of  nitrogen.  The  heap  contained  643  Ibs. 
of  nitrogen  when  put  up,  and  63.9  Ibs.  after  fe  mentingsix  months. 
And.  it  is  evident  that  the  manure  is  in  a  much  more  active  and 
available  condition  than  if  it  had  been  applied  to  the  land  in  the 
fresh  state.  There  was  14.9  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  a  soluble  condition 
in  the  fresh  manure,  and  21.4  Ibs.  in  the  fermented  manure.  And 
what  is  equally  important,  you  will  notice  that  there  is  154  Ibs.  of 
soluble  ash  in  the  heap  of  fresh  manure,  and  204  Ibs.  in  the  heap 
of  fermented  manure.  In  other  words,  50  Ibs.  of  the  insoluble 
mineral  matter  had,1)y  the  fermentation  of  the  manure,  been  ren- 
dered soluble,  and  consequently  immediately  available  as  plant- 
food.  This  is  a  very  important  fact." 

The  Doctor  is  right.  There  is  clearly  a  great  advantage  in  fer- 
menting manure,  provided  it  is  done  in  such  a  manner  as  to  pre« 


58  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

vent  loss.  We  have  not  only  less  manure  to  draw  out  and  spread, 
but  the  plant-food  which  it  contains,  is  more  soluble  and  active. 
The  table  we  have  given  shows  that  there  is  little  or  no  loss  of 
valuable  constituents,  even  when  manure  is  fermented  in  the  open 
air  and  exposed  to  ordinary  rain  and  snows  during  an  English 
winter.  But  it  also  shows  that  when  the  manure  has  been  i'er- 
mented  for  six  months,  and  is  then  turned  and  left  exposed  to  the 
rain  of  spring  and  summer,  the  loss  is  very  considerable. 


The  five  tons  (10,000  Ibs.,)  of  fresh  manure  placed  in  a  heap  on 
the  3d  of  November,  are  reduced  to  7,133  Ibs.  by  the  30th  of  April. 
Of  this  4,707  Ibs.  is  water.  By  the  23d  of  August,  the  heap  is  re- 
duced to  7,025  Ibs.,  of  which  5,304  Ibs.  is  water.  There  is  nearly 
600  Ibs.  more  water  in  the  heap  in  August  than  in  April. 

Of  total  nitrogen  in  the  heap,  there  is  64.3  Ibs.  in  the  fresh 
manure,  63. 9  Ibs.  in  April,  and  only  46.3  Ibs.  in  August.  This  is  a 
great  loss,  and  there  is  no  compensating  gain. 

We  have  seen  that,  when  five  tons  of  manure  is  fermented  for  six 
months,  in  winter,  the  nitrogen  in  the  soluble  organic  matter  is 
increased  from  14.9  Ibs.  to  21.4  Ibs.  This  is  a  decided  advantage 
But  when  the  manure  is  kept  for  another  six  months,  this  soluble 
nitrogen  is  decreased  from  21.4  Ibs.  to  13.2  lt>s.  We  lose  over  8 
Ibs.  of  the  most  active  and  available  nitrogen. 

And  the  same  remarks  will  apply  to  the  valuable  soluble  mineral 
matter.  In  the  five  tons  of  fresh  manure  there  is  154  Ibs.  of  soluble 
mineral  matter.  By  fermenting  the  heap  six  months,  we  get  204 
Ibs.,  but  by  keeping  the  manure  six  months  longer,  the  soluble 
mineral  matter  is  reduced  to  138  Ibs.  We  lose  66  Ibs.  of  valu- 
able soluble  mineral  matter. 

By  fermenting  manure  for  six  months  in  winter,  we  greatly  im- 
prove its  condition;  by  keeping  it  six  months  longer,  we  lose 
largely  of  the  very  best  and  most  active  parts  of  the  manure,, 


KEEPING   MANUJSE    UNDER   COVEB. 


59 


CHAPTER    XV. 


KEEPING   MANURE   UNDER   COYER 

Dr.  Voelcker,  at  the  same  time  lie  made  the  experiments  alluded 
to  in  the  preceding  chapter,  placed  another  heap  of  manure  under 
cover,  in  a  shed.  It  was  the  same  kind  of  manure,  and  was  treated 
precisely  as  the  other— the  only  difference  being  that  one  heap  was 
exposed  to  the  rain,  and  the  other  not.  The  following  table  gives 
the  results  of  the  weighings  of  the  heap  at  different  times,  and  also 
the  percentage  of  loss  : 

MANURE    FERMENTED    UNDER    COVER    IN    SHED. 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  ACTUAL  WEIGHINGS,  AND  PEttCENTAGE   OP  LOSS  IN  WEIGHT, 

OF  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP  (NO.  II.)  FRESH  FARM-YARD  MANURE  UNDER 

SHED,  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS  OF  THE  YEAR. 


Weight 
of 
Manure 
inLbs. 

Loss  in 
original 

weiqht 
inLbs. 

Percent 
age  of 
Loss. 

Put  up  on  the  3d  of  November  1854 

3,258 

Weighed  on  the  30th  of  April,  1855, 
of  6  months  

or  after  a  lapse 

1.613 

1,645 

50.4 

Weighed  on  the  23d  of  August,  1855 
of  9  months  and  20  days 

,  or  after  a  lapse 

1,297 

1,981 

60.0 

Weighed  on  the  15th  of  November, 
lapse  of  12  months  and  12  days 

185r,  or  after  a 

1,235 

2,023 

62.1 

It  will  be  seen  that  100  tons  of  manure,  kept  in  a  heap  under 
cover  for  six  months,  would  be  reduced  to  49.6-10  tons.  Whereas, 
when  the  same  manure  was  fermented  for  the  same  length  of  time 
in  the  open  air,  the  100  tons  was  reduced  to  only  71.4-10  tons. 
The  difference  is  due  principally  to  the  fact  that  the  heap  exposed 
contained  more  water,  derived  from  rain  and  snow,  than  the  heap 
kept  under  cover.  This,  of  course,  is  what  we  should  expect 
Let  us  look  at  the  results  of  Dr.  Vcelcker's  analyses : 


GO 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


TABLB  SHOWING  THE  COMPOSITION  OP  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP  (NO.  II.)  FRESH  PARK- 
YARD  MANURE  UNDER  SHED,  IN  NATUKAL  STATE  AT  DIFFERENT 
PERIODS  OF  THE  YEAR. 


When  put 
tip,  Nov. 
3,  1854. 

Feb.  14, 
1855. 

Apr.  30, 
1855. 

A  u.j.  23. 
1855. 

Noc.  15, 
1855. 

Water  

66.17 

67.32 

56.F;9 

43.43 

41.06 

*Soluble  organic  matter    .... 

2.43 

2.63 

4.<>3 

4.13 

5.37 

Soluble  inorganic  matter 

1.54 

2  12 

3.38 

3  0.3 

4  43 

tlnsoluble  organic  matter  ....   
Insoluble  mineral  matter  

25  70 
4.0.5 

20.46 

7.47 

25.43 
9.67 

26.01 
83.:* 

27.69 
20.85 

^ontainino'  nitrogen      

100.00 
.149 

1CO.OO 
17 

100.00 

.27 

100.00 
26 

100.00 
42 

Equal  to  ammonia  
tContainin"  nitrogen       

.181 
.494 

.20 

58 

.32 
.92 

.31 
1  01 

.51 

1  0*) 

Equal  to  ammonia 

599 

70 

1  11 

1  23 

1  31 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  
Equal  to  ammonia  

.643 

.780 

.75 

.90 

1.19 
1.43 

1.27 
1.51 

1.51 

1.82 

Ammonia  in  free  state                    .. 

.034 

022 

.055 

015 

019 

Ammonia  in  form  6f  salts  easily  de- 
composed by  quicklime  
Total  amount  of  or_rauic  matter.  .  .  . 
Total  amount  of  mineral  substance.. 

.088 
28.24 
5.59 

.054 
23.09 
9.59 

.101 
30.0G 
13.05 

.103 
30.14 
26.43 

.146 

33.06 
£5.23 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  COMPOSITION  OF  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP  (NO.  II.)  FRESH  FARM- 
YARD MANURE  UNDER  SHED,  CALCULATED  DRY,  AT  DIFFERENT 
PERIODS  OF  THE  YEAR. 


When  put 

Feb.  14, 

Apr.  30. 

Auq.  23, 

Nov.  15, 

3,  1854. 

1855. 

1855. 

1855. 

1855. 

*Soluble  organic  matter  
Soluble  inorganic  matter  

7.33 
4.55 

8.04 
6.48 

10.74 

7.84 

7.30 
5.39 

9.20 
7.59 

•tlnsoluble  organic  matter      

7(i.l5 

62.60 

58.99 

45.97 

47.46 

11.97 

22.88 

22.43 

41  34 

3575 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

*Containing  nitrogen  .     

.41 

.53 

.63 

.46 

.7.7 

Equal  to  ammonia     .          . 

53 

63 

76 

56 

QO 

tContaining  nitrogen 

1  46 

1  77 

2  14 

1  78 

1  88 

Equal  to  ammonia  

1.77 

2.14 

2.59 

2.16 

220 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  
Equal  to  ammonia  

1  90 
2  30 

2.30 
280 

2.77 
835 

2.24 
2  72 

2.fiO 

3  08 

Ammonia  in  free  state 

.10 

.067 

.127 

.026 

032 

Ammonia  in  form  of  salts,  easily  de 
composed  by  quicklime  
Total  amount  of  organic  matter  
Total  amount  of  mineral  substance 

.26 
83.48 
16.52 

.165 
70.64 
29.86 

.234 
69.73 
3027 

.182 
53.27 
46.73 

.250 
56.C6 
43.34 

The  above  analyses  are  of  value  to  those  who  buy  fresh  and  fer- 
mented manure.  They  can  form  some  idea  of  what  they  are  get- 
ting. If  they  buy  a  ton  of  fresh  manure  in  November,  they  get 
12$  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  and  30£  Ibs.  of  soluble  mineral  matter.  If 


KEEPING    MANURE    UNDER    COVER. 


61 


they  buy  a  ton  of  the  same  manure  that  has  been  kept  under  cover 
until  February,  they  get,  nitrogen,  15  Ibs. ;  soluble  minerals,  43£ 
Ibs.  In  April,  they  get,  nitrogen,  23|  Ibs. ;  soluble  minerals,  67$ 
Ibs.  In  August,  they  get,  nitrogen,  25£  Ibs. ;  soluble  minerals,  61 
Ibs.  In  November,  when  the  manure  is  over  one  year  old,  they 
get,  in  a  ton,  nitrogen,  30£  Ibs.  ;  soluble  minerals,  88  fr  Ibs. 

When  manure  has  not  been  exposed,  it  is  clear  that  a  purchaser 
can  afford  to  pay  considerably  more  for  a  ton  of  rotted  manure 
than  for  a  ton  of  freaa  manure.  But  waiving  this  point  for  the 
present,  let  us  see  hew  the  matter  stands  with  the  farmer  who 
makes  and  uses  the  manure.  What  does  he  gam  by  keeping  and 
fermenting  the  manure  under  cover  ? 

The  following  table  shows  the  weight  and  composition  of  tlie 
entire  heap  of  manure,  kept  under  cover,  at  different  times : 

TABLE  SHOW1NO   COMPOSITION   O7   ENTIRE  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP  (NO.  II.)  FRESH 
FARM-YARD  MANURE,  UNDER  SHED. 


Whenpui 
up,  Nov. 
3,1854. 

April  30, 
1855. 

^tt<7.23, 

1855. 

Nov.  15, 
1855. 

Weight  of  manure  

Ibs. 
3.258. 

B>3. 

1,613. 

B>s. 
1,297. 

ft* 
1,2C5. 

Amount  of  water  in  the  manure  
Amount  of  dry  matter 

2,153. 
1  102 

917.6 
693  4 

6G3.2 
7338 

514.5 
7205 

*Consisting  of  soluble  organic  matter.  .  . 
Soluble  mineral  matter 

1  80!T7 
50  11 

74.68 
5451 

53.56 
39..r5 

66.28 

54.68 

tlnsoluble  organic  matter  

833  17 

410.24 

887.32 

341.07 

Insoluble  mineral  matter 

131  92 

15597 

303.37 

257.57 

*Containinrr  nitrogen 

1,102. 
4P5 

695.4 
4.38 

733.8 
3.46 

720.5 
5.25 

Equal  to  ammonia    

5.81 

5.33 

4.20 

6.C7 

t  Containing  nitrogen 

1608 

14.88 

13.C8 

13.54 

Equal  to  ammonia        ....                    ... 

19.52 

17.46 

15.88 

1644 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  manure  
Equal  to  ammonia         .    .              

20.93 
25.40 

19.26 
22.79 

16.54 
20.03 

18.79 

22.C1 

The  manure  contains  ammonia  in  free 
state 

1.10 

.88 

.19 

.23 

The  manure  contains  ammonia  in  form 
of  salts,  easily  decomposed  by  quick- 
lime                                  

286 

1.62 

1.33 

1.80 

Total  amount  of  organic  matter  

919.94 

484.92 

390.88 

408.25 

Total  amount  of  mineral  matter 

182.06 

210.48 

342.92 

312.35 

This  is  the  table,  as  given  by  Dr.  Yoelcker.  For  the  sake  of 
comparison,  we  will  figure  out  what  the  changes  would  be  in  a 
heap  of  five  tons  (10,000  Ibs.)  of  manure,  when  fermented  under 
cover,  precisely  in  the  same  way  as  we  did  with  the  heap  fer- 
mented in  the  open  air,  exposed  to  the  rain.  The  following  is  the 
table : 


TALKS    OX    MANURES. 


CONTENTS  OP  A  HEAP  OF  MANURE  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS.      FERMENTED   UNDEB 

COVEB. 


When  put 
up,  A<w.3. 

April  30. 

Aug.  23. 

Kot.  15. 

Total  weight  of  manure  in  heap  

B>3. 

10000 

B>s. 
4960 

B>8. 

4000 

B>8. 

3  790 

Water  in  the  heap  of  maaure  
Total  organic  matter  
Total  inorganic  matter.  .  .     . 

6,017 
2.824 
559 

2,822 
1,490 
646 

1,737 
1,205 
1  057 

1,579 
1,253 
958 

Total  nitrogen  in  heap 

64  3 

59 

50  8 

57  2 

Total  soluble  organic  matter  

248 

2:30 

165 

203  5 

Insoluble  organic  matter  —  
Soluble  mineral  matter 

2,576 
154 

1,269 
167 

1,040 
122 

1,049 
168 

Insoluble  mineral  matter  
Nitrogen  in  soluble  matter  
Nitrogen  in  insoluble  matter  

405 
14.9 
49.4 

479 
13.4 
45.6 

935 
10.4 
40.4 

790 
15.9 
41.3 

Total  dry  matter  in  heap  ' 

3.383 

2,033 

2,£63 

2,211 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  heap  of  manure  kept  under  cover  con- 
tained, on  the  30th  of  April,  less  soluble  organic  matter,  less  soluble 
mineral  matter,  less  soluble  nitrogenous  matter,  and  less  total  ni- 
trogen than  the  heap  of  manure  exposed  to  the  weather.  This  is 
precisely  what  I  should  have  expected.  The  heap  of  manure  hi 
the  shed  probably  fermented  more  rapidly  than  the  henp  out  of 
doors,  and  there  was  not  water  enough  in  the  manure  to  retain 
the  carbonate  cf  ammonia,  or  to  favor  the  production  of  organic 
acids.  The  heap  was  too  dry.  If  it  could  have  received  enough  of 
the  liquid  from  the  stable3  to  have  kept  it  moderately  moist,  the 
result  wouLl  have  been  very  different. 

We  will  postpone  further  consideration  of  this  point  at  oresent, 
and  look  at  the  results  of  another  of  Dr.  Yoelcker's  interesting 
experiments. 

Dr.  Voelcker  wished  to  ascertain  the  effect  of  three  common 
methods  of  managing  manure : 

1st.  Keeping  it  in  a  heap  in  the  open  air  in  the  barn-yard,  or 
field. 

2d.  Keeping  it  in  a  heap  under  cover  in  a  shed. 

3d.  Keeping  it  spread  out  over  the  barn-yard. 

"  You  say  these  are  common  methods  of  managing  manure," 
remarked  the  Deacon,  "  but  I  never  knew  any  one  in  this  country 
take  the  trouble  to  spread  manure  over  the  yard." 

"  Perhaps  not,"  I  replied,  "  but  you  have  known  a  good  many 
farmers  who  adopt  this  very  method  of  keeping  their  manure. 
They  do  not  spread  it — but  they  let  it  lie  spread  out  over  the 
yards,  just  wherever  it  happens  to  be." 

Let  us  see  what  the  effect  of  this  treatment  is  on  the  composi- 
tion and  value  of  the  manure. 
We  have  examined  the  effect  of  keeping  manure  in  a  heap  in 


KEEPING   MANURE    UNDER   COVER. 


63 


the  open  air,  and  also  of -keeping  it  in  a  heap  under  cover.  Now 
let  us  see  how  these  methods  compare  with  the  practice  of  leav 
ing  it  exposed  to  the  rains,  spread  out  in  the  yard. 

On  the  3rd  of  November,  1854,  Dr.  Voelcker  weighed  out  1,652 
Ibs.  of  manure  similar  to  that  used  in  the  preceding  experiments, 
and  spread  it  out  in  the  yard.  It  was  weighed  April  30,  and  again 
August  23,  and  November  15. 

The  following  table  gives  the  actual  weight  of  the  manure  at 
the  different  periods,  also  the  actual  amount  of  the  water,  organic 
matter,  ash,  nitrogen,  etc.  : 

TABLE   SHOWING   THE    WEIGHT   AND    COMPOSITION   OF   ENTIRE  MASS    OF   EXPERI- 
MENTAL MANURE   (NO.   III.),  FRESH  FARM-YARD  MANURE,  SPREAD  IN  OPEN 
YARD  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS  OF  THE   YEAB.     IN  NATURAL  STATE. 


When  put 
up,  Nov. 
3,  1854. 

April  30, 
I8o5. 

Aug.  23, 
1S55. 

Nov.  15, 

1855. 

Weight  of  manure 

H>s. 
1  632 

ft  8. 

1  429 

B>s. 
1  012 

t>8. 

9"0 

Amount  of  water  in  the  manure  

1,093. 

1.143. 

709.3 

622  8 

Amount  of  dry  matter 

559 

2855 

3027 

327  2 

*Consisting  of  soluble  organic  matter..  . 
Soluble  mineral  matter  
tlnsoluble  organic  matter  

4097 
25,43 
425.  ()7 

16.55 
14.41 
163.79 

4.96 
6.47 
106.81 

3.95 
5.52 
94  45 

Insoluble  mineral  matter  

60  93 

90.75 

18446 

223  28 

*Containing  nitrogen 

550.0J 
3  23 

285.50 
1  19 

302.70 
fin 

327.20 

Oft 

Equal  to  ammonia    

3  98 

1  44 

73 

on 

tContaining  nitrogen 

6  21 

6  51 

q  KA 

Equal  to  ammonia  

754 

7  93 

4  29 

4  9^ 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  manure.  .  .  . 
Equal  to  ammonia  
The  manure  contains  ammonia  in  free 
state  

9.49 
11.53 

55 

7.70 
9.34 

14 

4.14 
5.02 

13 

3.88 
4.64 

00~5 

The  manure  contains  ammonia  in  form 
of  salts,  easily  decomposed  by  quick- 
lime   

1  45 

fi2 

RK 

M 

Total  amount  of  organic  matter 

4^6  04 

1">0  31 

111  77 

Total  amount  of  mineral  matter  

92.36 

105.16 

190.93 

228.80 

"One  moment,"  said  the  Deacon.  ''These  tables  are  a  little 
confusing.  The  table  you  have  just  given  shows  the  actual  weight 
of  the  manure  in  the  heap,  and  what  it  contained  at  different 
periods."— "Yes,"  said  I,  "and  the  table  following  shows  what 
100  Ibs  of  this  manure,  spread  out  in  the  yard,  contained  at  the 
different  dates  mentioned.  It  shows  how  greatly  manure  deterio- 
rates by  being  exposed  to  rain,  spread  out  on  the  surface  of  the 
yarJ.  The  table  merits  careful  study." 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


TABLE   SHOWING  COMPOSITION  OF  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP  (NO.  in.),  FRESH  FARM- 
YARD MANURE,    SPREAD  IN  OP.iN  YARD,   AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS 
OF  THE  YEAR.      IN  NATURAL  STATE. 


When  put 
up,  j.\w 
3,  1854. 

April  30, 
1855. 

Aug.  23, 

1»55. 

Ncv.  15, 
1855. 

Water 

66  17 

8002 

7009 

65  56 

*!Soiuble  organic  matter  
Soluble  inorganic  matter 

2.48 
1  54 

1.16 
1  01 

.49 
64 

.42 
57 

tlii&oluble  organic  matter  

25  76 

11  46 

1056 

9  94 

Insoluble  mineral  mutter    ,     .    ,. 

4  03 

b  b5 

1822 

23  51 

*Containing  nitrogen 

100.00 
149 

100.00 
08 

100.0J 
06 

100.00~ 
03 

Equal  to  ammonia  

.181 

</9 

07 

036 

•^Containing  nitrogen 

494 

45 

35 

36 

Equal  to  ammonia  

599 

54 

42 

46 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen 

643 

5S 

41 

39 

Equal  to  ammonia.             .     . 

780 

63 

49 

4°6 

Ammonia  in  free  state  
Ammonia  in  form  of  salts,  easily  decom- 
posed by  quicklime  

.034 
088 

.010 
045 

.012 
051 

.OOC6 
0"0 

Total  amount  of  organic  matter  
Total  amount  of  mineral  substance.. 

28.^4 
5  59 

12.62 

7  36 

11.05 

18  80 

10.36 
24  08 

The  following  table  shows  the  composition  of  the  manure,  cal- 
culated dry : 

TABLE  SHOVING  COMPOSITION  OF  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP  (iJO.  HI.),   FRESH  FARM 

YARD  MANURE,   SPREAD  IN  OPEN  YARD,   AT  DIFFERENT  FEKIODS 

OF  THE  YEAR.      CALCULATED  DRY. 


Whenput 
up.  Nov. 
3,  1854. 

April  30, 
1855. 

Avff.  23, 
1855. 

Nov.  15, 
1655. 

*Soluble  organic  matter  

7.33 

5.80 

1.64 

1.21 

Soluble  inorganic  matter       .        

4.55 

5.05 

2.14 

1.G9 

•^Insoluble  organic  matter  

76.15 

57.87 

35.30 

28.86 

Insoluble  mineral  matter  

11.97 

31.78 

60.92 

68.24 

*  Containing  nitrogen                  

100.00 
.44 

100.00 
.42 

100.00 
.20 

100.00 
.10 

.53 

.51 

.24 

.12 

1  46 

228 

1.17 

1.00 

Equal  to  ammonia 

1.77 

2.76 

1.41 

1..32 

Total  amount,  of  nitrogen  ....        

1.90 

2.70 

1.37 

1.10 

Equal  to  ammonia 

2.30 

3.27 

i.rs 

1/4 

Ammonia  in  free  state 

.10 

.05 

.010 

.0017 

Ammonia  in  form  of  salts,  easily  decom- 
posed by  quicklime  

.26 

.225 

.171 

.OH7 

Total  amount  of  organic  matter 

83.^8 

63.17 

36.04 

30/7 

Total  amount  of  mineral  substance  

16.52 

36.83 

63  06 

60.93 

I  have  made  ont  the  following  table,  showing  what  would  be 
the  changes  in  a  heap  of  5  tons  (10,000  Ibs.)  of  manure,  spread  out 
in  the  yard,  so  that  we  can  readily  see  the  effect  of  this  method  of 


KEEPING   MANURE    UNDER   COVER. 


G5 


management  as  compared  with  the  other  two  methods  of  keeping 
tue  manure  in  compact  heaps,  one  exposed,  the  other  under  cover. 
The  following  is  the  table  : 

CONTENTS  OF  THE  MASS  OF  MANURE,  SPREAD  OUT  IN  FARM- YARD,  AXD  EXPOSED 
TO  RAIN,   ETC. 


When  spread 
out,  Aw.  3. 

April®). 

Aug  23. 

Kov.  15. 

Total  weight  of  manure  
\Vater  iu  the  manure  

fl>8. 

10,000 
6,017 

B>s. 
8,650 
6  922 

B>8. 

6,1«0 

4  5:97 

B>8. 

5,750 
3  771 

Total  organic  matter 

2824 

1  0°2 

677 

595 

Total  inorgauic  matter  

559 

'636 

1  155 

1  384 

Total  nitrogen  m  manure  
Total  soluble  organic  matter.   .. 
Insoluble  orcrauic  matter 

64.3 

248 
2  576 

45.9 
100 
992 

25 
30 

647 

1  £2.4 
24 
571 

Soluble  mineral  matter  
Insoluble  mineral  matter  
Nitrogen  in  soluble  matter  
Nitrogen  in  insoluble  matter.  .  .  . 

154 

4'J5 
14.9 

4'.  .4 

87 
549 
6.9 
39 

39 
1,116 
3.6 
21.4 

38 

1,351 
1.7 
20.7 

It  is  not  necessary  to  make  many  remarks  on  this  table.  The 
facts  speak  for  themselves.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  consid- 
erable loss  even  by  letting  the  manure  lie  spread  out  until  spring ; 
but,  ssrious  as  this  loss  is,  it  is  small  compared  to  the  loss  sus- 
tained by  allowing  the  manure  to  lie  exposed  in  the  yard  during 
the  summer. 

In  tho  five  tons  of  fresh  manure,  we  have,  November  8,  64.3 
Ibs.  of  nitrogen ;  April  30,  we  Lave  46  Ibs.  ;  August  23,  only  25 
Ibs.  This  is  a  great  loss  of  the  most  valuable  constituent  of  the 
manure.  Of  soluble  mineral  matt;  r,  the  next  most  valuable  ingre- 
dient, we  have  in  the  five  tons  of  fresh  manure,  November  3,  154 
Ibs. ;  April  30,  87  Ibs.  ;  and  August  23,  only  39  Ibs.  Of  soluble 
nitrogen,  the  most  active  and  valuable  part  of  the  manure,  we 
have,  November  3,  nearly  15  Ibs.  ;  April  30,  not  quite  7  Ibs. ; 
August  23,  3|  Ibs. ;  and  November  15,  not  quite  If  Ibs. 


Dr.  Veelcker  made  still  another  experiment.  He  took  1,613 
Ibs.  of  well-rotted  dung  (mixed  manure  from  horses,  cows,  and 
pijs,)  and  kept  it  in  a  heap,  exposed  to  the  weather,  from  Decem- 
ber 6'  to  April  30,  August  23,  and  November  15,  weighing  it  and 
analyzing  it  at  these  different  dates.  I  think  it  is  not  necessary  to 
give  the  results  in  detail.  From  the  5th  of  December  to  the  30th 
of  April,  there  was  no  loss  of  nitrogen  in  the  heap,  and  compar- 
atively little  loss  of  soluble  mineral  matters  ;  but  from  April  30  to 
August  23,  there  was  considerable  loss  in  both  these  valuable  ID- 
gredients,  which  were  washed  out  of  the  heap  by  rain. 


63  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

•  , 

Dr.  Voelcker  draws  tii3  following  conclusions  from  his  experi- 
ments : 

"Having  describe J  at  length  my  experiments  with  farm-yard 
manure,"  he  says,  "  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  briefly  the  more 
prominent  and  practically  interesting  points  which  have  been 
developed  in  the  course  of  this  investigation.  I  would,  therefore, 
observe : 

"  1.  Perfectly  fresh  farm  yard  manure  contains  but  a  small  pro- 
portion of  free  ammonia. 

"  2.  The  nitrogen  in  fresh  dung  exists  principally  in  tlic  state  of 
insoluble  nitrogenized  matters. 

"  3.  The  soluble  organic  and  mineral  constituents  of  dung  are 
much  more  valuable  fertilizers  than  the  insoluble.  Particular 
care,  therefore,  should  be  bestowed  upon  the  preservation  of  the 
liquid  excrements  of  animals,  and  for  the  same  reason  the  manure 
should  be  kept  in  perfectly  water- proof  pits  of  sufficient  capacity 
to  render  the  setting  up  of  dung-heaps  in  the  corner  of  fields,  as 
much  as  it  is  possible,  unnecessary. 

"4.  Farm-yard  manure,  even  in  quite  a  fresh  stato,  contains 
phosphate  of  lime,  whicn  is  much  more  soluble  than  has  hitherto 
been  suspected. 

"  5.  The  urine  of  the  horse,  cow,  and  pig,  does  not  contain  any 
appreciable  quantity  of  phosphate  of  lime,  whilst  the  drainings  of 
dung-heaps  contain  considerable  quantities  of  this  valuable  fer- 
tilizer. The  drainings  of  dung-heaps,  partly  for  this  reason,  are 
more  valuable  than  the  urine  of  our  domestic  animals,  and,  there- 
fore, ought  to  be  prevented  by  all  available  means  from  running 
to  waste. 

"  6.  The  most  effectual  moans  of  preventing  loss  in  fertilizing 
matters  is  to  Cart  the  manure  directly  on  the  field  whenever  cir- 
cumstances allow  this  to  be  done. 

"7.  On  all  soils  with  a  moderate  proportion  of  clay,  no  fear 
need  to  be  entertained  of  valuabb  fertilizing  substances  becoming 
wasted  if  the  manure  cannot  be  plowed  in  at  once.  Fresh,  and 
even  well-rotten,  dung  contains  very  little  free  ammonia ;  and 
since  active  fermentation,  and  with  it  the  further  evolution  of 
free  ammonia,  is  stopped  by  spreading  out  the  manure  on  the 
field,  valuable  volatile  manuring  matters  can  not  escape  into  the 
air  by  adopting  this  plan. 

"  As  all  soils  with  a  moderate  proportion  of  clay  possess  in  a 
remarkable  degree  the  power  of  absorbing  and  retaining  manuring 
matters,  none  of  the  saline  and  soluble  organic  constituents  are 
wasted  even  by  a  heavy  fall  of  rain.  «lt  may,  indeed,  be  questioned 


KEEPING   MANURE    UNDER   COVER.  67 

whether  it  is  more  advisable  to  plow  in  the  manure  at  once,  or 
to  let  it  lie  for  some  time  on  the  surface,  and  to  give  the  rain  full 
opportunity  to  wash  it  into  the  soil. 

"  It  appears  to  me  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance  to  regulate 
the  application  of  manure  to  our  fields,  so  that  its  constituents 
may  become  properly  diluted  and  uniformly  distributed  amongst 
a  large  mass  of  soil.  By  plowing  in  the  manure  at  once,  it  ap- 
pears to  me,  this  desirable  end  can  not  be  reached  so  perfectly  as 
by  allowing  the  rain  to  wash  in  gradually  the  manure  evenly 
spread  on  the  surface  of  the  field. 

"  By  adopting  such  a  course,  in  case  practical  experience  should 
confirm  my  theoretical  reasoning,  the  objection  could  no  longer  be 
maintained  that  the  land  is  not  ready  for  carting  manure  upon  it. 
I  am  inclined  to  recommend,  as  a  general  rule :  Cart  the  manure 
on  the  field,  spread  it  at  once,  and  wait  for  a  favorable  opportu- 
nity to  plow  it  in.  In  the  case  of  clay  soils,  I  have  no  hesitation 
to  say  the  manure  may  be  spread  even  six  months  before  it  is 
plowed  in,  without  losing  any  appreciable  quantity  in  manuring 
matter. 

"  I  am  perfectly  aware,  that  on  stiff  clay  land,  farm-yard  ma- 
nure, more  especially  long  dung,  when  plowed  in  before  the 
frost  sets  in,  exercises  a  most  beneficial  action  by  keeping  the 
soil  loose,  and  admitting  the  free  access  of  frost,  which  pulverizes 
tiie  land,  and  would,  therefore,  by  no  means  recommend  to  leave 
the  manure  spread  on  the  surface  without  plowing  it  in.  All  I 
wish  to  enforce  is,  that  when  no  other  choice  is  left  but  cither  to 
set  up  the  manure  in  a  heap  in  a  corner  of  the  field,  or  to  spread 
it  on  the  field,  without  plowing  it  in  directly,  to  adopt  the  latter 
plan.  In  the  case  of  very  light  sandy  soils,  it  may  perhaps  not 
be  advisable  to  spread  out  the  manure  a  long  time  before  it  ia 
plowed  in,  since  such  soils  do  not  possess  the  power  of  retaining 
manuring  matters  in  any  marked  degree.  On  light  sandy  soils,  I 
would  suggest  to  manure  with  well-fermented  dung,  shortly  before 
the  crop  intended  to  be  grown  is  sown. 

"  8.  Well-rotten  dung  contains,  likewise,  little  free  ammonia, 
but  a  very  much,  larger  proportion  of  soluble  organic  and  saline 
mineral  matters  than  fresh  manure. 

"  9.  Eotten  dung  is  richer  in  nitrogen  than  fresh. 

"  10.  Weight  for  weight,  rotten  dung  is  more  valuable  than 
fresh. 

"  11.  In  the  fermentation  of  dung,  a  very  considerable  propor- 
tion of  the  organic  matters  in  fresh  manure  is  dissipated  into  the 
air  in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid  and  other  gases. 


68  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  12.  Properly  regulated,  however,  the  fermentation  of  dung  is 
not  attended  with  any  great  loss  of  nitrogen,  nor  of  saline  mineral 
matters. 

"  13.  During  the  fermentation  of  dung,  nlmic,  humic,  and  other 
organic  acids  are  formed,  as  well  as  gypsum,  which  fix  the  am- 
monia generated  in  the  decomposition  of  the  nitrogenized  con- 
stituents of  dung. 

"  14.  During  the  fermentation  of  dung,  the  phosphate  of  lime 
which  it  contains  is  rendered  more  soluble  than  in  fresh  manure. 

"  15.  In  the  interior  and  heated  portions  of  manure-heaps,  am- 
monia is  given  off;  but,  on  passing  into  the  external  and  cold  lay- 
ers of  dung-heaps,  the  freo  ammonia  is  retained  in  the  heap. 

"  16.  Ammonia  is  not  given  off  from  the  surface  of  well-com- 
pressed dung-heaps,  but  on  tuming  manure-heaps,  it  is  wasted  in 
appreciable  quantities.  Dung-heaps,  for  this  reason,  should  not 
be  turned  more  frequently  than  absolutely  necessary. 

"17.  No  advantage  appears  to  result  from  carrying  on  the  fer- 
mentation of  dung  too  far,  but  every  disadvantage. 

"  18.  Farm-yard  manure  becomes  deteriorated  in  value,  when 
kept  in  heaps  exposed  to  the  weather,  the  more  the  longer  it  is 
kept. 

"  19.  The  Iocs  in  manuring  matters,  which  is  incurred  in  keep- 
ing manure-heaps  exposed  to  the  weather,  is  not  so  much  due  to 
the  volatilization  of  ammonia  as  to  the  removal  of  ammoniacal 
salts,  soluble  nitrogenizcd  organic  matters,  and  valuable  mineral 
matters,  by  the  rain  which  falls  in  the  period  during  which  the 
manure  is  kept. 

"  20.  If  ram.  is  excluded  from  dung-heaps,  or  little  rain  falls  at 
a  time,  the  loss  in  ammonia  is  trifling,  and  no  saline  matters,  of 
course,  are  removed ;  but,  if  much  rain  falls,  especially  if  it  de- 
scends in  heavy  showers  upon  the  dung-heap,  a  serious  loss  in 
ammonia,  soluble  organic  matter,  phosphate  of  lime,  and  salts  of 
potash  is  incurred,  and  the  manure  becomes  rapidly  deteriorated 
in  value,  whilst  at  the  same  time  it  is  diminished  in  weight. 

"  21.  Well-rotten  dung  is  more  readily  affected  by  the  deteriorat- 
ing influence  of  rain  than  fresh  manure. 

"  22.  Practically  speaking,  all  the  essentially  valuable  manuring 
constituents  arc  preserved  by  keeping  farm-yard  manure  under 
cover. 

"  23.  If  the  animals  have  been  supplied  with  plenty  of  litter, 
fresh  dung  contains  an  insufficient  quantity  of  water  to  induce  an 
active  fermentation.  In  this  case,  fresh  dung  can  not  be  properly 


AN    ENGLISH    PLAN    OF   KEEPING   MANURE.  G9 

fermented  under  cover,  except  water  or  liquid  manure  is  pumped 
over  the  heap  from  time  to  time. 

"  Where  much  straw  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  dung,  and 
no  provision  is  made  to  supply  the  manure  in  the  pit  at  any  time 
with  the  requisite  amount  of  moisture,  it  may  not  be  advisable  to 
put  up  a  roof  over  the  dung-pit.  On  the  other  hand,  on  farms 
where  there  is  a  de.-ciency  of  straw,  so  that  the  moisture  of  the 
excrements  of  our  domestic  animals  is  barely  absorbed  by  the  lit- 
ter, the  advantage  of  erecting  a  roof  over  the  dung-pit  will  be 
found  very  great. 

"  21  The  worst  method  of  making  manure  is  to  produce  it  by 
animals  kept  in  open  yards,  since  a  large  proportion  of  valuable 
fertilizing  matters  is  wasted  in  a  short  time  ;  and  after  a  lapse  of 
twelve  months,  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  substance  of  the  manure 
is  wasted,  and  only  one-third,  inferior  in  quality  to  an  equal 
weight  of  fresh  dung,  is  left  behind. 

"  25.  The  most  rational  plan  of  keeping  manure  in  heaps  ap- 
pears to  me  that  adopted  by  Mr.  Lawrence,  of  Cirencester,  and 
described  by  him  at  length  in  Morton's  '  Cyclopaedia  of  Agricul- 
ture,' under  the  head  of  '  Manure.'  " 


CHAPTER     XVI. 

AN    ENGLISH    PLAN    OF    KEEPING    MANURE. 

"  I  would  like  to  know,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  how  Mr.  Lawrence 
manages  his  manure,  especially  as  his  method  has  received  such 
high  commendation." 

Charley  got  the  s'jcond  volume  of  "Morton's  Cyclopaedia  of  Agri- 
culture," from  the  book  shelves,  and  turned  to  the  article  on 
"Manurs."  He  found  that  Mr.  Lawrence  adopted  the  "Box 
System"  of  feeding  cattle,  and  used  cut  or  chaffed  straw  for  bedding. 
And  Mr.  Lawrence  claims  that  by  this  plan  "  manure  will  have 
been  mada  under  the  most  perfect  conditions."  And  "when  the 
boxes  are  full  at  those  periods  of  the  year  at  which  manure  is  re- 
quired for  the  succeeding  crops,  it  will  be  most  advantageously  dis 
posed  of  by  being  transferred  at  once  to  the  hn  1,  and  covered  in." 

"  Good,  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  think  he  is  right  there."  Charley 
continued,  and  read  as  follows  : 

"  But  there  will  be  accumulations  of  manure  requiring  removal 


70  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

from  the  homestead  at  other  seasons,  at  which  it  cannot  be  so  ap- 
plied, and  when  it  must  be  stored  for  future  use.  The  following 
has  been  found  an  effectual  and  economical  mode  of  accomplish- 
ing this ;  more  particularly  when  cut  litter  is  used,  it  saves  the  cost 
of  repeated  turnings,  and  effectually  prevents  the  decomposition 
and  waste  of  the  most  active  and  volatile  principle. 

"  Some  three  or  more  spots  are  selected  according  to  the  size  of 
the  farm,  in  convenient  positions  for  access  to  the  land  under  till- 
age, and  by  the  side  of  the  farm  roads  The  sites  fixed  on  are 
then  excavated  about  two  feet  under  the  surrounding  surface.  In 
the  bottom  is  laid  some  three  or  four  inches  of  earth  to  absorb  any 
moisture,  on  which  the  manure  is  emptied  from  the  carts.  This  is 
evenly  spread,  and  well  trodden  as  the  heap  is  forming.  As  soon 
as  this  is  about  a  foot  above  the  ground  level,  to  allow  for  sinking, 
the  heap  is  gradually  gathered  in,  until  it  is  completed  in  the  form 
of  an  ordinary  steep  roof,  slightly  rounded  at.  the  top  by  the  final 
treading.  In  the  course  of  building  this  up,  about  a  bushel  of  salt, 
to  two  cart-loads  of  dung  is  sprinkled  amongst  it.  The  base  lail 
out  at  any  one  time  should  not  exceed  that  required  by  the  manure 
ready  for  the  complete  formation  of  the  heap  cs  far  as  it  goes ;  and 
within  a  day  or  two  after  such  portion  is  built  up,  and  it  has 
settled  into  shape,  a  thin  coat  of  earth  in  a  moist  state  is  plastered 
entirely  over  the  surface.  Under  these  conditions  decomposition 
does  not  take  place,  in  consequence  of  the  exclusion  of  the  air ;  or 
at  any  rate  to  so  limited  an  extent,  that  the  ammonia  is  absorbed 
by  the  earth,  for  there  is  not  a  trace  of  it  perceptible  about  the 
heap ;  though,  when  put  together  without  such  covering,  this  is 
percsptible  enough  to  leeward  at  a  hundred  yards'  distance. 

"  When  heaps  thus  formed  are  resorted  to  in  the  autumn,  either 
for  the  young  seeds,  or  for  plowing  in  on  the  stubbles  after  prepar- 
ing for  the  succeeding  root  crop,  the  manure  will  be  found  un- 
diminished  in  quantity  and  unimpaired  in  quality;  in  fact,  simply 
consolidated.  Decomposition  then  proceeds  within  the  soil,  where 
all  its  results  are  appropriated,  and  rendered  available  for  the  suc- 
ceeding cereal  as  well  as  the  root  crop. 

"  It  would  be  inconvenient  to  plaster  the  heap,  were  the  ridge, 
when  settled,  above  six  or  seven  feet  from  the  ground  level ;  the 
base  may  be  formed  about  ten  to  twelve  feet  wide,  and  the  ridge 
about  nine  feet  from  the  base,  which  settles  down  to  about  seven 
feet ;  this  may  be  extended  to  any  length  as  further  supplies  of 
manure  require  removal.  One  man  is  sufficient  to  form  the  heap, 
and  it  is  expedient  to  employ  the  same  man  for  this  service,  who 
soon  gets  into  the  way  of  performing  the  work  neatly  and  quickly. 


AX    ENGLISH    PLAN    OF   KEEPING    MANURE,  71 

It  has  been  asked  where  a  farmer  is  to  get  the  earth  to  cover  his 
heaps — it  may  be  answered,  keep  your  roads  scraped  when  they 
get  muddy  ou  the  surface  during  rainy  weather — in  itself  good 
economy — and  leave  this  in  small  heaps  beyond  the  margin  of 
your  roads.  This,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  will  be  found  an 
ample  provision  for  the  purpose,  for  it  is  unnecessary  to  lay  on  a 
coat  more  than  one  or  two  inches  in  thickness,  which  should  be 
done  when  in  a  moist  state.  At  any  rate,  there  will  always  be 
found  an  accumulation  on  headlands  that  may  be  drawn  upon  if 
i.ced  be. 

"  Farmers  who  have  not  been  in  the  habit  of  bestowing  care  on 
the  manufacture  and  subsequent  preservation  of  their  manure,  and 
watching  results,  have  no  conception  of  the  importance  of  this. 
A  barrowful  of  such  manure  as  has  been  described,  would  pro- 
duce a  greater  weight  of  roots  and  corn,  thtin  that  so  graphically 
described  by  the  most  talented  and  accomplished  of  our  agricul- 
tural authors — as  the  contents  of  '  neighbour  DrychafFs  dung- 
cart,  that  creaking  hearse,  that  is  carrying  to  the  field  the  dead 
body  whose  spirit  has  departed.' 

"  There  is  a  source  of  valuable  and  extremely  useful  manure  on 
every  farm,  of  which  very  few  farmers  avail  themselves — the  gath- 
ering together  in  one  spot  of  all  combustible  waste  and  rubbish,  the 
clippings  of  hedges,  scouring  of  ditches,  grassy  accumulation  on 
the  sides  of  roads  and  fences,  etc.,  combined  with  a  good  deal  of 
earth.  If  these  are  carted  at  leisure  times  into  a  large  circle,  or  in 
two  rows,  to  supply  the  fire  kindled  in  the  center,  in  a  spot  which 
is  frequented  by  the  laborers  on  the  farm,  with  a  three-pronged 
fork  and  a  shovel  attendant,  and  each  passer-by  is  encouraged  to 
add  to  the  pile  whenever  he  sees  the  smoke  passing  away  so  freely 
as  to  indicate  rapid  combustion,  a  very  large  quantity  of  valuable 
ashes  are  collected  between  March  and  October.  In  the  latter 
month  the  fire  should  be  allowed  to  go  out ;  the  ashes  are  then 
thrown  into  a  long  ridge,  as  high  as  they  will  stand,  and  thatched 
while  dry.  This  will  be  found  an  invaluable  store  in  April,  May, 
and  June,  capable  of  supplying  from  twenty  to  forty  bushels  of 
ashes  per  acre,  according  to  the  care  and  industry  of  the  collector, 
to  drill  with  the  seeds  of  the  root  crop." 

The  Deacon  got  sleepy  before  Charley  finished  reading.  "  We 
can  not  afford  to  be  at  so  much  trouble  in  this  country,"  he  said, 
and  took  up  his  hat  and  left. 

The  Deacon  is  not  altogether  wrong.  Our  climate  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  England,  and  it  is  seldom  that  farmers  need 
to  draw  out  manure,  and  pile  it  in  the  field,  except  in  winter,  an<l 


72  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

then  it  is  not  necessary,  I  think,  either  to  dig  a  pit  or  to  cover  the 
heap.  Those  who  draw  manure  from  the  city  in  summer,  may 
probably  adopt  some  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  suggestions  with  ad- 
vantage. 

The  plan  of  collecting  rubbish,  brush,  old  wood,  and  sods,  and 
converting  them  into  ashes  or  charcoal,  is  one  which  we  could 
often  adopt  with  decided  advantage.  Our  premises  would  be 
cleaner,  and  we  should  have  less  fungus  to  speck  and  crack  our 
apples  and  pears,  and,  in  addition,  we  should  have  a  quantity  of 
ashes  or  burnt  earth,  that  is  not  only  a  manure  itself,  but  is  spe- 
cially useful  to  mix  with  moist  superphosphate  and  other  artificial 
manures,  to  make  them  dry  enough  and  bulky  enough  to  be  easily 
and  evenly  distributed  by  the  drill.  Artificial  manures,  so  mixed 
with  these  ashes,  or  dry,  charred  earth,  are  less  likely  to  injure  the 
seed  than  when  sown  with  the  seed  in  the  drill-rows,  unmixed 
with  some  such  material.  Sifted  coal  ashes  are  also  very  useful 
for  this  purpose. 


C  H  A  P  T  E  K    XVII. 
SOLUBLE   PHOSPHATES   IN   FARMYARD   MANURE. 

There  is  one  thing  in  these  experiments  of  Dr.  Vcelcker's  which 
deserves  special  attention,  and  that  is  the  comparatively  large 
amount  of  soluble  phosphate  of  lime  in  the  ash  of  farm-yard  ma- 
nure. I  do  not  think  the  fact  is  generally  known.  In  estimating 
the  value  of  animal  manures,  as  compared  with  artificial  manures,  it 
is  usually  assumed  that  the  phosphates  in  the  former  are  insoluble, 
and,  therefore,  of  less  value  than  the  soluble  phosphates  in  super- 
phosphate of  lime  and  other  artificial  manures. 

Dr.  Vcelcker  found  in  the  ash  of  fresh  farm-yard  manure,  phos- 
phoric acid  equal  to  12.23  per  cent  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  of 
this  5.85  was  soluble  phosphate  of  lime. 

In  the  ash  of  well-rotted  manure,  he  found  phosphoric  acid 
equnl  to  12.11  per  cent  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  of  this,  4.75  was 
soluble  phosphate  of  lime. 

"  That  is,  indeed,  an  important  fact,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  I 
thought  Professor  Voelcker  claimed  that '  during  the  fermentation 
of  dung,  the  phosphate  of  lime  which  it  contains  is  rendered  more 
soluble  than  in  fresh  manure.'" 


SOLUBLE   PHOSPHATES    IX    FARM-YARD    MANURE. 


73 


"  He  did  say  so,"  I  replied,  "  and  it  may  be  true,  but  the  abov^e 
figures  do  not  seem  to  prove  it.  When  he  wrote  the  sentence  you 
have  quoted,  he  probably  had  reference  to  the  fact  that  he  found 
more  soluble  phosphate  of  lime  in  rotted  manure  than  in  fresh 
manure.  Thus,  he  found  in  5  tons  of  fresh  and  5  tons  of  rotted 
manure,  the  following  ingredients : 


5  TONS, 
(10,000  LBS.) 


Fresh  manure 

Hotted  manure 


29.5) 


38.6  6S.5< 
57  3  95.5J 


57.3 
44.6 


Insol. 


9.9 

4.5 


658 


805 


"  It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  figures  that  rotted  manure  con- 
tains more  soluble  phosphate  of  lime  than  fresh  manure. 

"  But  it  does  not  follow  from  this  fact  that  any  of  the  insoluble 
phosphates  in  fresh  manure  have  been  rendered  soluble  during  the 
fermentation  of  the  manure. 

"  There  are  more  insoluble  phosphates  in  the  rotted  manure  than 
in  the  fresh,  but  we  do  not  conclude  from  this  fact  that  any  of 
the  phosphates  have  been  rendered  insoluble  during  the  process  of 
fermentation — neither  are  we  warranted  in  concluding  that  any  of 
them  have  been  rendered  soluble,  simply  because  we  find  more 
soluble  phosphates  in  the  rotted  manure." 

"  Very  true,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  it  has  been  shown  that  in 
the  heap  of  manure,  during  fermentation,  there  was  an  actual  in- 
crease of  soluble  mineral  matter  during  the  first  six  months,  and, 
to  say  the  Isast,  it  is  highly  probable  that  some  of  this  increase  of 
soluble  mineral  matter  contained  more  or  less  soluble  phosphates, 
and  perhaps  Dr.  Ycelcker  had  some  facts  to  show  that  such  was 
the  case,  although  he  may  not  have  published  them.  At  any 
rate,  he  evidently  thinks  that  the  phosphates  in  manure  are  ren- 
dered more  soluble  by  fermentation." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  I,  "  we  can  not  do  better  than  to  let  the  matter 
rest  in  that  form.  I  am  merely  anxious  not  to  draw  definite  con- 
clusions from  the  facts  which  the  facts  do  not  positively  prove.  I 
am  strongly  in  favor  of  fermenting  manure,  and  should  be  glad  to 
have  it  shown  that  fermentation  does  actually  convert  insoluble 
phosphates  into  a  soluble  form." 

There  is  one  thing,  however,  that  these  experiments  clearly 
prove,  and  that  is,  that  there  is  a  far  larger  quantity  of  solub* 


74  TALKS    OX   MANURES. 

phosphates  in  manure  than  is  generally  supposed.  Of  the  total 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  fresh  manure.  43  per  cent  is  in  a  soluble 
condition  ;  and  in  the  rotted  manure,  40  psr  cent  is  soluble. 

This  is  an  important  fact,  and  one  which  is  generally  over- 
looked. It  enhances  the  value  of  farm-yard  or  stable  manure,  as 
compared  with  artificial  manures.  But  of  this  we  may  have  more 
to  say  when  we  come  to  that  part  of  the  subject.  I  want  to  make 
one  remark.  I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  proportion 
of  soluble  phosphates  is  greater  in  rich  manure,  made  from  grain- 
fed  animals,  than  in  poor  manure  made  principally  from  straw. 
In  other  words,  of  100  Ibs.  of  total  phosphoric  acid,  more  of  it 
would  be  in  a  soluble  condition  in  the  rich  than  in  the  poor  ma- 
nure. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 
HOW    THE    DEACON    MAKES    MANURE. 

"  I  thinji,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  you  are  talking  too  much  about 
the  science  of  manure  making.  Science  is  all  well  enough,  but 
practice  is  better." 

"  That  depends,"  said  I,  "on  the  practice.  Suppose  you  tell 
us  how  you  manage  your  manure." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Deacon,  "I  do  not  know  much  about  plant- 
food,  and  nitrogen,  and  phosphoric  acid,  but  I  think  manure  is  a 
good  thing,  and  the  more  you  have  of  it  the  better.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  your  practice  of  spreading  manure  on  the  land  and  letting 
it  lie  exposed  to  the  sun  and  winds.  I  want  to  draw  it  out  in  the 
spring  and  plow  it  under  for  corn.  I  think  this  long,  coarse 
manure  loosens  the  soil  and  makes  it  light,  and  warm,  and  porous. 
And  then  my  plan  saves  labor.  More  than  half  of  my  manuie  is 
handled  but  once.  It  is  made  in  the  yard  and  sheds,  and  lies  there 
until  it  is  drawn  to  the  field  in  the  spring.  The  manure  from  the 
cow  and  horse  stables,  and  from  the  pig-pens,  is  thrown  into  the 
yard,  and  nothing  is  done  to  it  except  to  level  it  down  occasionally. 
In  proportion  to  the  stock  kept,  I  think  I  make  twice  as  much 
manure  as  you  do." 

"Yes,"  said  I,  "twice  as  much  in  bulk,  but  one  load  of  my 
manure  is  worth  four  loads  of  your  long,  coarse  manure,  composed 


HOW   THE    DEACON   MAKES    MANURE.  75 

principally  of  corn-stalks,  straw,  and  water.  I  think  you  are  wise 
in  not  spending  much  time  in  piling  and  working  over  such 
manure." 

The  Deacon  and  I  have  a  standing  quarrel  about  manure.  We 
differ  on  all  points.  He  is  a  good  man,  but  not  what  we  call  a  good 
farmer.  He  cleared  up  his  farm  from  the  original  forest,  and  he 
has  always  been  content  to  receive  what  his  land  would  give  him. 
If  he  gets  good  crops,  well,  if  not,  his  expenses  are  moderate,  and 
he  manages  to  make  both  ends  meet.  I  tell  him  he  could  double 
his  crops,  and  quadruple  his  profits,  by  better  farming — but  though 
he  cannot  disprove  the  facts,  he  is  unwilling  to  make  any  change 
in  his  system  of  farming.  And  so  he  continues  to  make  just  as 
much  manure  as  the  crops  he  is  obliged  to  feed  out  leave  in  his 
yards,  and  no  more.  He  does  not,  in  fact,  make  any  manure.  He 
takes  what  comes,  and  gets  it  on  \o  his  land  with  as  little  labor  as 
possible. 

It  is  no  use  arguing  with  such  a  man.  And  it  certainly  will  not 
do  to  contend  that  his  method  of  managing  manure  is  all  wrong. 
His  error  is  in  making  such  poor  manure.  But  with  such  poor 
stuff  as  he  has  in  his  yard,  I  believe  he  is  right  to  get  rid  of  it  with 
the  least  expense  possible. 

I  presume,  too,  that  the  Deacon  is  not  altogether  wrong  in  regard 
to  the  good  mechanical  effects  of  manure  on  undrained  and  indif- 
ferently cultivated  land.  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  bases  his  opinion 
on  experience.  The  good  effects  of  such  manure  as  he  makes 
must  be  largely  due  to  its  mechanical  action — it  can  do  little 
towards  supplying  the  more  important  and  valuable  elements  of 
plant-food. 

I  commend  the  Deacon's  system  of  managing  manure  to  all  such. 
as  make  a  similar  article.  But  I  think  there  is  a  more  excellent 
way.  Feed  the  stock  better,  make  richer  manure,  and  then  it  will 
pay  to  bestow  a  little  labor  in  taking  care  of  it. 


76  TALKS    ON    MANUKES. 

CHAPTEE    XIX. 
HOW    JOHN    JOHNSTON     MANAGES     HIS     MANURE 

One  of  the  oldest  and  most  successful  farmers,  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  is  John  Johnston,  of  Geneva.  He  has  a  farm  on  the 
borders  of  Seneca  Lake.  It  is  high,  rolling  land,  but  needed  under 
draining.  This  has  been  thoroughly  done — and  done  with  great 
profit  and  advantage.  The  soil  is  a  heavy  clay  loam.  Mr.  John- 
ston has  been  in  the  habit  of  summer-fallowing  largely  for  wheat, 
generally  plowing  three,  and  sometimes  four  times.  He  has  been 
a  very  successful  wheat-grower,  almost  invariably  obtaining  large 
crops  of  wheat,  both  of  grain  and  straw.  The  straw  he  feeds  to 
sheep  in  winter,  putting  more  straw  in  the  racks  than  the  sheep 
can  eat  up  clean,  and  using  what  they  leave  for  bedding.  The 
sheep  run  in  yards  enclosed  with  tight  board  fences,  and  have 
sheds  under  the  barn  to  lie  in  at  pleasure. 

Although  the  soil  is  rather  heavy  for  Incian  corn,  Mr.  Johnston 
succeeds  in  growing  large  crops  of  this  great  American  cereal. 
Corn  and  stalks  arc  both  fed  out  on  the  farm.  Mr.  J.  has  not  yet 
practised  cutting  up  his  straw  ard  stalks  into  chaff. 

The  land  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth  of  red  clover,  and 
great  crops  of  clover  and  timothy-hay  are  raised,  and  feel  out  on 
the  farm.  Gypsum,  or  plaster,  is  sown  quite  freely  on  the  clover 
in  the  spring.  Comparatively  few  roots  are  raised — not  to  exceed 
an  acre — and  these  only  quite  recently.  The  main  crops  are  winter 
wheat,  spring  barley,  Indian  corn,  clover,  and  timothy-hay,  and 
clover-seed. 

The  materials  for  making  manure,  then,  are  wheat  and  barley 
straw,  Indian  corn,  cor:i-stall:s,  clover,  and  timothy-hay.  These 
are  all  raised  on  the  farm.  But  Mr.  Johnston  has  for  many  years 
purchased  linsecd-cil  cake,  to  feed  to  his  sheep  and  cattle. 

This  last  fact  must  not  be  overlooked.  Mr.  J.  commenced  to 
feed  oil-cake  when  its  value  was  little  known  here,  and  when  tie 
bought  it  for,  I  think,  seven  or  ciglit  dollars  a  ton.  He  continued 
to  use  it  even  when  he  had  to  pay  fifty  dollars  per  ton.  Mr.  J. 
has  great  faith  in  manure — and  it  ij  a  faith  resting  on  good  evidence 
and  long  experience.  If  he  had  not  fed  out  so  much  oil-cake  and 
clover-hay,  he  would  not  have  found  his  manure  so  valuable. 

"  How  much  oil-cake  does  he  use?"  asked  the  Daacon. 

"  He  gives  his  slieep,  on  the  average,  about  1  Ib.  each  per  day." 


HOW    JOHN   JOHNSTON   MANAGES    HIS   MANURE.  77 

If  he  feeds  out  a  ton  of  clover-bay,  two  tons  of  straw,  (for  feed  and 
bedding,)  and  one  ton  of  oil-cake,  the  manure  obtained  from  this 
quantity  of  food  and  litter,  would  be  worth,  according  to  Mr. 
Lawes'  table,  given  on  page  45,  $3472. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  he  fed  out  one  ton  of  corn,  one  ton  of 
clover-hay,  and  two  tons  of  straw,  for  feed  and  bedding,  the  manure 
would  be  worth  $21.65. 

If  he  fed  one  ton  of  corn,  and  three  tons  of  straw,  the  manure 
would  be  worth  only  $14.09. 

He  would  get  as  much  manure  from  the  three  tons  of  straw  and 
one  ton  of  corn,  as  from  the  two  tons  of  straw,  one  ton  of  clover- 
hay,  and  one  ton  of  oil-cake,  while,  as  before  said,  the  manure  in 
the  one  case  would  be  worth  $14.69,  and  in  the  other  $34.72. 

In  other  words,  a  load  of  the  good  manure  would  be  worth,  when 
spread  out  on  t!ie  land  in  the  field  or  garden,  more  than  two  loads 
of  the  straw  and  com  manure. 

To  get  the  samo  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and 
potash,  you  have  to  spend  more  than  twice  the  labor  in  cleaning 
out-the  stables  or  yards,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of  throwing 
or  wheeling  it  to  the  manure  pile,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of 
turning  the  manure  in  the  pile,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of 
loading  it  on  the  carts  or  wagons,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of 
drawing  it  to  the  field,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of  unloading  it 
into  heaps,  and  more  than  twice  the  labor  of  spreading  it  in  the 
one  case  than  in  the  other,  and,  after  all,  twenty  tons  of  this  poor 
manure  would  not  produce  as  good  an  effect  the  first  season  as  ten 
tons  of  the  richer  manure. 

"  Why  so  "  ?  asked  the  Deacon. 

"  Simply  because  the  poor  manure  is  not  so  active  as  the  richer 
manure.  It  will  not  decompose  so  readily.  Its  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash,  are  not  so  available.  The  twenty  tons, 
may,  in  the  long  run,  do  as  much  good  as  the  ten  tons,  but  I  very 
much  doubt  it.  At  any  rate,  I  would  greatly  prefer  the  ten  tons 
of  the  good  manure  to  twenty  tons  of  the  poor — even  when  spread 
out  on  the  land,  ready  to  plow  under.  What  the  difference  would 
be  in  the  value  of  the  manure  in  the  yard,  you  can  figure  for  your- 
self. It  would  depend  on  the  cost  of  handling,  drawing,  and 
spreading  the  extra  ten  tons." 

The  Deacon  estimates  the  cost  of  loading,  drawing,  unloading, 
and  spreading,  at  fifty  cents  a  ton.  This  is  probably  not  far  out  of 
the  way,  though  much  depends  on  the  distance  the  manure  has  to 
be  drawn,  and  also  on  the  condition  of  the  manure,  etc. 


78  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

The  four  tons  of  feed  and  bedding  will  make,  at  vi  rough  estimate 
about  ten  tons  of  manure. 

This  ten  tons  of  straw  and  corn  manure,  according  to  Mr.  Lawes' 
estimate,  is  worth,  in  the  field.  $14.69.  And  if  it  costs  fifty  cents  a 
load  to  get  it  on  the  land  its  value,  ii  the  yard,  would  be  $9. 69 — 
or  nearly  ninety-seven  cents  a  ton. 

The  ten  tons  of  good  manure,  according  to  the  same  estimate,  is 
worth,  in  the  fold,  $34.72,  and,  consequently,  wouLl  be  worth,  in 
the  yard,  f  29.72.  In  other  words,  a  ton  of  poor  manure  is  worth, 
in  the  yard,  ninety-seven  cents  a  ton,  and  the  good  manure  $2  97. 

And  so  in  describing  John  Johnston's  method  of  managing 
manure,  this  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind.  It  might  not  pay  the 
Deacon  to  spend  much  labor  on  manure  worth  only  ninety  seven 
cents  a  ton,  while  it  might  pay  John  Johnston  to  bestow  some  con- 
siderable time  and  labor  on  manure  worth  $2.97  per  ton. 
"  But  is  it  really  worth  this  sum  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 
"  In  reply  to  that,"  said  I,  "  all  I  claim  is  that  the  figures  are  com- 
parative. If  your  manure,  made  as  above  described,  is  worth 
ninety-seven  cents  a  ton  in  the  yard,  then  John  Johnston's  manure, 
made  as  stated,  is  certainly  worth,  at  least,  $2.97  per  ton  in  the 
yard." 

Of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

"  If  you  think,"  I  continued,  "  your  manure,  so  made,  13  worth 
only  half  as  much  as  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate ;  in  other  words,  if  your 
ten  tons  of  manure,  instead  of  being  worth  $14.69  in  the  field,  is 
worth  only  $7.35 ;  then  John  Johnston's  ten  tons  of  manure, 
instead  of  being  worth  $34.72  in  the  field,  is  worth  only  $17.36." 

"  That  looks  a  little  more  reasonable,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  John 
Johnston's  manure,  instead  of  being  worth  $2.97  per  ton  in  the  yard, 
is  worth  only  $1  48  per  ton,  and  mine,  instead  of  being  worth  ninety- 
seven  cents  a  ton,  is  worth  forty-eight  and  a  half  cents  a  ton." 

The  Deacon  sat  for  a  few  minutes  looking  at  these  figures. 
"  They  do  not  seem  so  extravagantly  high  as  I  thought  them  at 
first,"  he  said,  "  and  if  you  will  reduce  the  figures  in  Mr.  Lawes' 
table  one-half  all  through,  it  will  be  much  nearer  the  truth.  I 
think  my  manure  is  worth  forty-eight  and  a  half  cents  a  ton  in  the 
yard,  and  if  your  figures  are  correct,  I  suppose  I  must  admit  that 
John  Johnston's  manure  is  worth  $1.48  per  ton  in  the  yard.'* 

I  was  very  glad  to  get  such  an  admission  from  the  Deacon.  He 
did  not  see  that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  the  figures,  and  so  1  got 
him  to  go  over  the  calculation  again. 


HOW    JOHN    JOHNSTON    MANAGES    HIS    MANTJKE.  79 

"  You  take  a  pencil,  Deacon,1'   said  I,   "  and   write   down  the 
figures : 

Manure  from  a  ton  of  oil -cake  $19.72 

Manure  from  a  ton  of  clover  hay 9.64 

Manure  from  two  tons  of  straw. . ,  .    5.35 


$34.72 

11  This  would  make  about  ten  tons  of  manure.  "We  have  agreed 
to  reduce  the  estimate  one-half,  and  consequently  we  have  $17.36 
as  the  value  of  the  ten  tons  of  manure." 

"  This  is  John  Johnston's  manure.  It  is  worth  $1.73  per  ton  in 
the  field. 

"  It  costs,  we  have  estimated,  50  cents  a  ton  to  handle  the  manure, 
and  consequently  it  is  worth  in  the  yard  $1.23  per  ton." 

"  This  is  less  than  we  made  it  before,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"  Never  mind  that,"  said  I,  "  the  figures  are  correct.  Now  write 
down  what  your  manure  is  wortli  : 

Manure  from  1  ton  of  corn $6.65 

Manure  from  3  tons  of  straw. . .  . .  8.04 


$14.69 

"  This  will  make  about  ten  tons  of  manure.  In  this  case,  as  in  the 
other,  we  are  to  reduce  the  estimate  one-half.  Consequently,  we 
have  $7.35  as  the  value  of  this  ten  tons  of  manure  in  the  field,  or 
73£  cents  a  ton.  It  costs,  we  have  estimated,  50  cents  a  ton  to 
handle  the  manure,  and,  therefore,  it  is  worth  in  the  yard,  23^-  cents 
a  ton." 

"  John  Johnston's  manure  is  worth  in  the  yard,  $1.23  per  ton. 
The  Deacon's  manure  is  worth  in  the  yard,  23£  cents  per  ton." 

"  There  is  some  mistake,"  exclaimed  the  Deacon,  "  you  said,  at 
first,  that  one  load  of  John  Johnston's  manure  was  worth  as  much 
as  two  of  my  loads.  Now  you  make  one  load  of  his  manure  worth 
more  than  five  loads  of  my  manure.  This  is  absurd." 

"  Not  at  all,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "  you  made  the  figures  yourself. 
You  thought  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate  too  high.  You  reduced  it  one- 
haJf.  The  figures  are  correct,  and  you  must  accept  the  conclusion. 
If  John  Johnston's  manure  is  only  worth  $1.23  per  ton  in  the  yard, 
yours,  made  from  1  ton  of  corn  and  3  tons  of  straw,  is  only 
worth  233-  cents  per  ton." 

"  An  1  now,  Deacon,"  I  continued,  "  while  you  have  a  pencil  in 
your  hand,  I  want  you  to  make  one  more  calculation.  Assuming 
that  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate  is  too  hi~h,  and  we  reduce  it  one-hrJf, 


80  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

figure  up  what  manure  is  worth  when  made  from  straw  alone. 
1  on  take  4  tons  of  wheat  straw,  feed  out  part,  and  use  part  for 
bedding.  It  will  give  you  about  10  tons  of  manure.  And  this  10 
tons  cost  you  50  cents  a  ton  to  load,  draw  out,  and  spread.  Now 
figure : 

"  Four  tons  of  straw  is  worth,  for  manure,  according  to  Mr, 
Lawfes'  table,  $2.68  per  ton.  We  have  agreed  to  reduce  the  figures 
one  half,  and  so  the 

10  tons  of  manure  from  the  4  tons  of  straw  is  worth. . .$5.36 
Drawing  out  10  tons  of  manure  at  50  cents 5.00 


Value  of  10  tons  of  straw-manure  in  yard $0.86 

"  In  other  words,  if  John  Johnston's  manure  is  worth  only  f  1.C3 
per  ton  in  the  yard,  the  straw-made  manure  is  worth  only  a  little 
over  3|-  cents  a  ton  in  the  yard." 

"  That  is  too  absurd,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"  Very  well,"  I  replied,  "for once  I  am  glad  to  agree  with  yon. 
But  if  this  is  absurd,  then  it  follows  that  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate  of 
the  value  of  certain  foods  for  manure  is  not  so  extravagant  as  you 
supposed — which  is  precisely  what  I  wished  to  prov^." 


"  You  have  not  tokl  us  how  Mr.  Johnston  manages  his  manure," 
said  the  Deacon. 

"  There  is  nothing  very  remarkable  about  it,"  I  replied.  "  There 
are  many  farmers  in  this  neighborhood  who  adopt  the  same 
method.  I  think,  however,  John  Johnston  was  the  first  to  recom- 
mend it,  and  subjected  himself  to  some  criticism  from  some  of  tiie 
so-called  scientific  writers  at  the  time. 

"  His  general  plan  is  to  leave  the  manure  in  the  yards,  basements, 
and  sheas,  under  the  sheep,  until  spring.  He  usually  sells  his  fat 
sheep  in  March.  As  soon  as  the  sheep  are  removed,  the  manure  is 
either  thrown  up  into  loose  heaps  in  the  yard,  or  drawn  directly 
to  the  field,  where  it  is  to  ba  used,  and  made  into  a  heap  there. 
The  manure  is  not  spread  on  the  land  until  the  autumn.  It  re- 
mains in  the  heaps  or  piles  all  summer,  being  usually  turned  once, 
and  sometimes  twice.  Tao  manure  becomes  thoroughly  rotted." 


Mr.  Johnston,  like  the  Deacon,  applies  his  manure  to  the  corn 
crop.  But  the  Deacon  draws  out  his  fresh  green  manure  in  the 
spring,  on  sod-lind,  and  plows  it  under.  Mr.  Johnston,  on  the 
other  hand,  keeps  his  manure  in  a  heap  through  the  summer, 


HOW    JOHN   JOHNSTON    MANAGES    HIS    MANURE.          81 

spreads  it  on  the  sod  in  September,  or  the  first  week  in  October. 
Here  it  lies  until  next  spring.  The  grass  and  clover  grow  up 
through  manure,  and  the  grass  and  manure  are  turned  under  next 
spring,  and  the  land  planted  to  corn. 

Mr.  Johnston  is  thoroughly  convinced  that  he  gets  far  more 
benefit  from  the  manure  when  applied  on  the  surface,  and  left  ex- 
posed for  several  months,  than  if  he  plowed  it  under  at  once. 


I  like  to  write  and  talk  about  John  Johnston.  I  like  to  visit 
him.  He  is  so  delightfully  enthusiastic,  believes  so  thoroughly  in 
good  farming,  and  has  been  so  eminently  successful,  that  a  day 
spent  hi  his  company  can  not  fail  to  encourage  any  farmer  to  re- 
newed efforts  in  improving  his  soil.  "  You  must  drain,"  he  wrote 
to  me;  "when  I  first  commenced  farming,  I  never  made  any 
money  until  I  began  to  underdrain."  But  it  is  not  underdraining 
alone  that  is  the  cause  of  his  eminent  success.  When  he  bought 
his  farm,  "  near  Geneva,"  over  fifty  }rears  ago,  there  was  a  pile  of 
manure  in  the  yard  that  had  lain  there  year  after  year,  until  it  was, 
as  he  said,  "  as  black  as  my  hat."  The  former  owner  regarded  it 
as  a  nuisance,  and  a  few  months  before  young  Johnston  bought 
the  farm,  had  given  some  darkies  a  cow  on  condition  that  they 
would  draw  out  this  manure.  They  drew  out  six  loads,  took  the 
co\v — and  that  was  the  last  seen  of  them.  Johnston  drew  out  this 
manure,  raised  a  good  crop  of  wheat,  and  that  gave  him  a  start. 
He  says  he  has  been  asked  a  great  many  times  to  what  he  owes  his 
success  as  a  farmer,  and  he  has  replied  that  he  could  not  tell 
whether  it  was  "dung  or  credit."  It  was  probably  neither.  It 
was  the  man— his  intelligence,  industry,  and  good  common  ser.se. 
That  heap  of  black  mould  was  merely  an  instrument  in  his  hands 
that  he  could  turn  to  good  account. 

His  first  crop  of  wheat  gave  him  u  credit.''  and  this  also  he  used 
to  advantage.  He  belioved  that  good  farming  would  pay,  and  it 
was  this  faith  in  a  generous  soil  that  made  him  willing  to  spend 
the  money  obtained  from  the  firsc  crop  of  wheat  in  enriching  the 
land,  and  to  avail  himself-of  his  credit.  Had  he  lacked  this  faith- 
had  he  hoarded  every  sixpence  he  could  have  ground  out  of  tho 
soil,  who  would  have  ever  heard  of  John  Johnston  ?  He  has 
been  liberal  with  his  crops  and  his  animals,  and  has  ever  found 
them  grateful.  This  is  the  real  lesson  which  his  life  teaches. 

He  once  wrote  me  he  had  something  to  show  me.  He  did  not 
tell  me  what  it  was,  and  when  I  got  there,  he  took  me  to  a  field  of 
grass  that  was  to  be  mown  for  hay.  The  field  had  been  in  winter 
wheat  the  year  before.  At  the  ti:uc  of  sywiirj  the  wheat,  tho 


62  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

whole  field  was  seeded  down  with  timothy.  No  clover  was  sown 
either  then  or  in  tne  spring  ;  but  after  the  wheat  was  sown,  he  put 
on  a  slight  dressing  of  manure  on  two  portions  of  the  field  that 
he  thought  were  poor.  He  to.d  the  man  to  spread  it  out  of  the 
wagon  just  as  thin  as  he  could  distribute  it  evenly  over  the  land. 
It  was  a  very  light  manuring,  but  the  manure  was  rich,  and  thor- 
oughly rotted.  I  do  not  recollect  whether  the  effect  of  the  manure 
was  particularly  noticed  on  the  wheat ;  but  on  the  grass,  the  f  ol- 
lowing  spring,  the  effect  was  sufficiently  striking.  Those  two  por- 
tions of  the  field  where  the  manure  was  spread  were  covered  with 
a  splendid  crop  of  red  clover.  You  could  see  the  exact  line,  in  both 
cases,  where  the  manure  reached.  It  looked  quite  curious.  No 
clover-seed  was  sown,  and  yet  there  was  as  fine  a  crop  of  clover 
as  one  could  desire. 

On  looking  into  the  matter  more  closely,  we  found  that  there 
was  more  or  less  clover  all  over  the  field,  but  where  the  manure 
was  not  used,  it  could  hardly  be  seen.  Tli3  plants  were  small, 
and  the  timothy  hid  them  from  view.  But  where  the  manure 
was  used,  these  plants  of  clover  had  been  stimulated  in  their 
growth  until  they  covered  the  ground.  The  leaves  were  broad 
and  vigorous,  while  in  the  other  case  they  were  small,  and  almost 
dried  up.  This  is  probably  the  right  explanation.  The  manure 
did  not  "  bring  in  the  clover ;"  it  simply  increased  the  growth  of 
that  already  in  the  soil.  It  shows  the  value  of  manure  for  grass. 

This  is  what  Mr.  Johnston  wanted  to  show  me.  "  I.  might  have 
written  and  told  you,  but  you  would  not  have  got  a,  clear  idea  of 
the  matter."  Tliis  is  true.  One  had  to  see  the  great  luxuriance  of 
that  piece  of  clover  to  fufly  appreciate  the  effect  of  the  manure. 
Mr.  J.  said  the  manure  on  that  grass  was  worth  $30  an  acre — that 
is,  on  the  three  crops  of  grass,  before  the  field  is  again  plowed.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  this  is  true,  and  that  the  future  crops  on  the 
land  will  also  be  benefited — not  directly  from  the  manure,  per- 
haps, but  from  the  clover-roots  in  the  soil.  And  if  the  field  were 
pastured,  the  effect  on  future  crops  would  be  very  decided. 


MY    OWN   PLAN   OF   MANAGING   MANURE.  83 

CHAPTER      XX. 

MY    OWN   PLAN   OF   MANAGING    MANURE. 

One  of  the  charms  and  the  advantages  of  agriculture  is  that  a 
farmer  must  think  for  himself.  He  should  study  principles,  and 
apply  them  in  practice,  as  best  suits  his  circumstances. 

My  own  method  of  managing  manure  gives  me  many  of  the 
advantages  claimed  for  the  Deacon's  method,  and  John  Johnston's, 
also. 

"  I  do  not  understand  what  you  mean,"  said  the  Deacon ;  "  my 
method  differs  essentially  from  that  of  John  Johnston." 

"  True,"  I  replied,  "  you  use  your  winter-made  manure  in  the 
spring;  while  Mr.  Johnston  piles  his,  and  gets  it  thoroughly  fer- 
mented ;  but  to  do  this,  he  has  to  keep  it  until  the  autumn,  and  it 
does  not  benefit  his  corn-crop  before  the  next  summer.  He  loses 
the  use  of  his  manure  for  a  year." 

I  think  my  method  secures  both  these  advantages.  I  get  my 
•winter-made  manure  fermented  and  in  good  condition,  and  yet 
ha  ve  it  ready  for  spring  crops. 

In  the  first  place,  I  should  remark  t!iat  my  usual  plan  is  to  cut 
up  all  the  fodder  for  horses,  cows,  and  sheep.  For  horses,  I  some- 
times use  long  straw  for  bedding,  but,  as  a  rule,  I  prefer  to  run 
everything  through  a  feed-cutter.  We  do  not  steam  the  food,  and 
we  let  the  cows  and  sheep  have  a  liberal  supply  of  cut  corn-stalks 
and  straw,  and  what  they  do  not  eat  is  thrown  out  of  the  mangers 
and  racks,  and  used  for  bedding. 

I  should  state,  too,  that  I  keep  a  good  many  pigs,  seldom  having 
less  than  50  breeding  sows.  My  pigs  are  mostly  sold  at  from  two 
to  four  months  old,  but  we  probably  average  150  head  the  year 
round.  A  good  deal  of  my  manure,  therefore,  comes  from  the 
pig-pens,  and  from  two  basement  cellars,  where  my  store  hogs 
sleep  in  winter. 

In  addition  to  the  pigs,  we  have  on  the  farm  from  150  to  200 
Cotswold  and  grade  sheep ;  10  cows,  and  8  horses.  These  are  our 
manure  makers. 

The  raw  material  from  which  the  manure  is  manufactured  con- 
sists of  wheat,  barley,  rye,  and  oat-straw,  corn-stalks,  corn-fodder, 
clover  and  timothy-hay,  clover  seed-hay,  bean-straw,  pea-straw, 
potato-tops,  mangel-wurzel,  turnips,  rape,  and  mustard.  These 
are  all  raised  on  the  farm ;  and,  in  addition  to  the  home-grown 
oats,  peas,  and  corn,  we  buy  and  feed  out  considerable  quantities 


84  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

of  bran,  shorts,  fine-middlings,  malt-combs,  corn-meal,  and  a  little 
oil-cake.  I  sell  wheat,  rye,  barley,  and  clover-seed,  apples,  and 
potatoes,  and  sometimes  cabbages  and  turnips.  Probably,  on  the 
average,  for  each  $100  I  receive  from  the  sale  of  these  crops,  I 
purchase  $25  worth  of  bran,  malt-combs,  corn-meal,  and  other 
feed  for  animals.  My  farm  is  now  rapidty  increasing  in  fertility 
and  productiveness.  The  crops,  on  the  average,  are  certainly  at 
least  double  what  they  were  when  I  bought  the  farm  thirteen 
years  ago ;  and  much  of  this  increase  has  taken  place  during  the 
last  five  or  six  years,  and  I  expect  to  see  still  greater  improvement 
year  by  year. 

"  Never  mind  all  that,"  sail  the  Deacon ;  u  we  all  know  that 
manure  will  enrich  land,  and  I  will  concede  that  your  farm  his 
greatly  improved,  and  can  not  help  but  improve  if  you  continue 
to  make  and  use  as  much  manure." 

"  I  expect  to  make  more  and  more  manure  every  year,"  said  I. 
"  The  larger  the  crops,  the  more  manure  we  can  make ;  and  the 
more  manure  we  make,  the  larger  the  crops." 


The  real  point  of  difference  between  my  plan  of  managing  ma- 
nure, and  the  plan  adopted  by  the  Deacon,  is  essantially  this :  I 
aim  to  keep  all  my  manure  in  a  compact  pile,  where  it  will  slowly 
ferment  all  winter.  The  Deacon  throws  his  horse-manure  into  a 
heap,  just  outside  the  stable  door,  and  the  cow-manure  into  an- 
other heap,  and  the  pig-manure  into  another  heap.  These  heaps 
are  more  or  less  scattered,  and  are  exposocl  to  the  rain,  and  snow, 
and  frost.  The  horse-manure  is  quite  likely  to  ferment  too  rap- 
idly, and  if  hi  a  largo  heap,  and  the  weather  is  warm,  it  not 
unlikely  "  fire-fangs "  in  the  center  of  the  heap.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  cow-manura  lies  cold  and  dead,  and  during  the  winter 
freezes  into  soli!  lumps. 

I  wheel  or  cart  all  my  manure  into  one  central  heap.  The  main 
object  is  to  keep  it  as  compact  as  possible.  There  are  two  advan- 
tages in  this:  1st,  the  manure  is  less  exposed  to  the  ram,  an.i 
(3d),  when  freezing  weather  sets  in,  only  a  few  inches  of  the  ex- 
ternal portion  of  the  heap  is  frozen.  I  have  practised  this  plan 
for  several  years,  and  can  keep  my  heap  of  manure  slowly  fer- 
menting during  the  whole  winter. 

But  in  order  to  ensure  this  result,  it  is  necessary  to  begin  mak' 
ing  the  heap  before  winter  sets  in.  The  plan  is  this : 

Having  selected  the  spot  in  the  yard  most  convenient  for  mak- 
ing the  heap,  collect  all  the  manure  that  can  be  found  in  the  sheep- 


MY    OWN   PLAN    OF   MANAGING   MANURE.  85 

yards,  sheds,  cow  and  horse  stables,  pig-pens,  and  hen-house,  to- 
gether with  leaves,  weeds,  and  refuse  from  the  garden,  and  wheel 
or  cart  it  to  the  intended  heap.  If  you  set  a  farm-man  to  do  the 
work,  tell  him  you  want  to  make  a  hot-bed  about  five  feet  high,  six 
feet  wide,  and  six  feet  long.  I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  seen  a 
farm  where  enough  material  could  not  be  found,  say  in  November, 
to  make  such  a  heap.  And  this  is  all  that  is  needed.  If  the  ma- 
nure is  rich,  if  it  is  obtained  from  animals  eating  clover-hay,  bran, 
grain,  or  other  food  rich  in  nitrogen,  it  will  soon  ferment.  But  if 
the  manure  is  poor,  consisting  largely  of  straw,  it  will  be  very  de- 
sirable to  make  it  richer  by  mixing  with  it  bone-dust,  blood,  hen- 
droppings,  woollen  rags,  chamber-lye,  and  animal  matter  of  any 
kind  that  you  can  find. 

The  richer  you  can  make  the  manure,  the  more  readily  will  it 
ferment.  A  good  plan  is  to  take  the  horse  or  sheep  manure,  a 
few  weeks  previous,  and  use  it  for  bedding  the  pigs.  It  will 
absorb  the  liquid  of  the  pigs,  and  make  rich  manure,  which  will 
soon  ferment  when  placed  in  a  heap. 

If  the  manure  in  the  heap  is  too  dry,  it  is  a  good  plan,  when  you 
are  killing  hogs,  to  throw  on  to  the  manure  all  the  warm  water, 
hair,  blood,  intestines,  etc.  You  may  think  I  am  making  too 
much  of  such  a  simple  matter,  but  I  have  hacl  letters  from  farmers 
who  have  tried  this  plan  of  managing  manure,  and  they  say  that 
they  can  not  keep  it  from  freezing.  One  reason  for  this  is,  that 
they  do  not  start  the  heap  early  enough,  and  do  not  take  pains  to 
get  the  manure  into  an  active  fermentation  before  winter  sets  in. 
Much  depends  on  this.  In  starting  a  fire,  you  take  pains  to  get  a 
little  fine,  dry  wood,  that  will  burn  readily,  and  when  the  fire  is 
fairly  going,  put  on  larger  sticks,  and  presently  you  have  such  a 
fire  that  you  can  burn  wood,  coal,  stubble,  sods,  or  anything  you 
wish.  And  so  it  is  with  a  manure-heap.  Get  the  fire,  or  fermen- 
tation, or,  more  strictly  speaking,  putrefaction  fairly  started,  and 
there  will  be  little  trouble,  if  the  heap  is  large  enough,  and  fresh 
material  is  added  from  time  to  time,  of  continuing  the  fermenta- 
tion all  winter. 

Another  point  to  be  observed,  and  especially  in  cold  weather,  is 
to  keep  the  sides  of  the  heap  straight,  and  the  top  level.  You 
must  expose  the  manure  in  the  heap  as  little  as  possible  to  frost 
and  cold  winds.  The  rule  should  be  to  spread  every  wheel-bar- 
rowful  of  manure  as  soon  as  it  is  put  on  the  heap.  If  left  un- 
spread  on  top  of  the  heap,  it  will  freeze ;  and  if  afterwards  cov- 
ered with  other  manure,  it  will  require  considerable  heat  to  melt 
it,  and  thus  reduce  the  temperature  of  the  whole  heap. 


86  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

It  is  far  less  work  to  manage  a  heap  of  manure  in  this  way  than 
may  be  supposed  from  my  description  of  the  plan.  The  truth  is, 
I  find,  in  point  of  fact,  that  it  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  manage  ma- 
nure in  this  way ;  and  I  fear  not  one  farmer  in  ten  will  succeed 
the  first  winter  he  undertakes  it,  unless  he  gives  it  his  personal 
attention.  It  is  well  worth  trying,  however,  because  if  your  heap 
sliould  freeze  up,  it  will  be,  at  any  rate,  in  no  worse  condition 
than  if  managed  in  the  ordinary  way ;  and  if  you  do  succeed, 
even  in  part,  you  will  have  manure  in  good  condition  for  im- 
mediate use  in  the  spring. 


As  I  have  said  before,  I  keep  a  good  many  pigs.  Now  pigs,  if 
fed  on  slops,  void  a  large  quantity  of  liquid  manure,  and  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  furnish  straw  enough  to  absorb  it.  When  straw 
and  stalks  are  cut  into  chaff,  they  will  absorb  much  more  liquid 
than  when  used  whole.  For  this  reason  we  usually  cut  all  our 
straw  and  stalks.  We  also  use  the  litter  from  the  horse-stable  for 
bedding  the  store  hogs,  and  also  sometimes,  when  comparatively 
dry,  we  use  the  refuse  sheep  bedding  for  the  same  purpose. 
Where  the  sheep  barn  is  contiguous  to  the  pig-pens,  and  when  the 
sheep  bedding  can  be  thrown  at  once  into  the  pig-pens  or  cellar, 
it  is  well  to  use  bedding  freely  for  the  sheep  and  lambs,  and  re- 
move it  frequently,  throwing  it  into  the  pig-pens.  I  do  not  want 
my  sheep  to  be  compelled  to  eat  up  the  straw  and  corn-stalks  too 
close.  I  want  them  to  pick  out  what  they  like,  and  then  throw 
away  what  they  leave  in  the  troughs  for  bedding.  Sometimes  we 
take  out  a  five-bushel  basketful  of  these  direct  from  the  troughs, 
for  bedding  young  pigs,  or  sows  and  pigs  in  the  pens,  but  as  a 
rule,  we  use  them  first  for  bedding  the  sheep,  and  then  afterwards 
use  the  sheep  bedding  in  the  fattening  or  store  pig-pens. 

"  And  sometimes,"  remarked  the  Deacon,  "  you  use  a  little  long 
straw  for  your  young  pigs  to  sleep  on,  so  that  they  can  bury 
themselves  in  the  straw  and  keep  warm." 

"  True,"  I  replied,  "  and  it  is  not  a  bad  plan,  but  we  are  not 
now  talking  about  the  management  of  pigs,  but  how  we  treat  our 
manure,  and  how  we  manage  to  have  it  ferment  all  winter." 

A  good  deal  of  our  pig-manure  is,  to  borrow  a  phrase  from  the 
pomologists,  "  double- worked."  It  is  horse  or  sheep-manure, 
used  for  bedding  pigs  and  cows.  It  is  saturated  with  urine,  and  is 
much  richer  in  nitrogenous  material  than  ordinary  manure,  and 
consequently  will  ferment  or  putrify  much  more  rapidly.  Usually 
pig-manure  is  considered  "cold,"  or  sluggish,  but  this  double- 


MY    OWN   PLAN    OF   MANAGING    MANURE.  87 

worked  pig-manure  will  ferment  even  more  rapidly  than  sheep  or 
horse-manure  alone. 

Unmixed  cow-manure  is  heavy  and  cold,  and  when  kept  in  a 
heap  by  itself  out  of  doors,  is  almost  certain  to  freeze  up  solid  dur- 
ing the  winter. 

We  usually  wheel  out  our  cow-dung  every  day,  and  spread  on 
the  manure  heap. 

This  is  one  of  the  things  that  needs  attention.  There  wi'l  be 
a  constant  tendency  to  put  all  the  cow-dung  together,  instead  of 
mixing  it  with  the  lighter  and  more  active  manure  from  the  horses, 
sheep,  and  pigs.  Spread  it  out  and  cover  it  with  some  of  the  more 
strawy  manure,  which  is  not  so  liable  to  freeze. 

Should  it  so  happen — as  will  most  likely  be  the  case — that  on 
looking  at  your  heap  some  moraing  when  the  thermometer  is 
below  Z2ro,you  find  that  several  wheel-barrowfuls  of  manure  that 
were  put  on  the  heap  the  day  before,  were  not  spread,  and  are  now 
crusted  over  with  ice,  it  will  be  well  to  break  up  the  barrowfuls, 
even  if  necessary  to  use  a  crowbar,  and  place  the  frozen  lumps  of 
manure  on  the  outside  of  the  heap,  rather  than  to  let  them  lie  in  the 
center  of  the  pile.  Your  aim  should  be  always  to  keep  the  center 
of  the  heap  warm  and  in  a  state  of  fermentation.  You  do  not 
want  the  fire  to  go  out,  and  it  will  not  go  out  if  the  heap  is  prop- 
erly managed,  even  should  all  the  sides  and  top  be  crusted  over 
with  a  layer  of  frozsn  manure. 

During  very  severe  weather,  and  when  the  top  is  frozen,  it  is  a  good 
plan,  when  you  are  about  to  wheel  some  fresh  manure  on  to  the 
heap,  to  remove  a  portion  of  the  frozen  crust  on  top  of  the  heap, 
near  the  center,  and  make  a  hole  for  the  fresh  manure,  which 
should  be  spread  and  covered  up. 

When  the  heap  is  high  enough,  say  five  feet,  we  commence  an- 
other heap  alongside.  In  doing  this,  our  plan  is  to  clean  out  some 
of  the  sheep-sheds  or  pig-pens,  where  the  manure  has  accumulated 
for  some  time.  This  gives  us  much  more  than  the  daily  supply. 
Place  this  manure  on  the  outside  of  the  new  heap,  and  then  take  a 
quantity  of  hot,  fermenting,  manure  from  the  middle  of  the  old 
heap,  and  throw  it  into  the  center  of  the  new  heap,  and  then  cover 
it  up  with  the  fresh  manure.  I  would  put  in  eight  or  ten  bushels, 
or  as  much  as  will  warm  up  the  center  of  the  new  heap,  and  start 
fermentation.  The  colder  the  weather,  the  more  of  this  hot 
manure  should  you  take  from  the  old  heap— the  more  the  bett?r. 
Fresh  manure  should  be  added  to  the  old  heap  to  fill  up  the  hole 
made  by  the  removal  of  the  hot  manure. 


88 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


"  You  draw  out  a  great  many  loads  of  manure  during  the 
winter,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  and  pile  it  in  the  field,  and  I  have  al- 
ways thought  it  a  good  plan,  as  you  do  the  work  when  there  is 
little  else  to  do,  and  when  the  ground  is  frozen." 

Yes,  this  is  an  improvement  on  my  old  plan.  I  formerly  used 
to  turn  over  the  heap  of  manure  in  the  barn-yard  in  March,  or  as 
soon  as  fermentation  had  ceased. 

The  object  of  turning  the  heap  is  (1st,)  to  mix  the  manure  and 
make  it  of  uniform  quality ;  (2.1,)  to  break  the  lumps  and  make  the 
manure  fine;  and  (3d,)  to  lighten  up  the  manure  and  make  it 
loose,  thus  letting  in  the  air  and  inducing  a  second  fermentation. 
It  is  a  good  plan,  and  well  repays  for  the  labor.  In  doing  the 
work,  build  up  the  end  and  sides  of  the  new  heap  straight, 
and  keep  the  top  flat.  Have  an  eye  on  the  man  doing  the  work, 
and  see  that  he  breaks  up  the  manure  and  mixes  it  thoroughly, 
and  that  he  goes  to  the  bottom  oftJie  heap. 

My  new  plan  that  the  Deacon  alludes  to,  is,  instead  of  turning 
the  heap  in  the  yard,  to  draw  the  manure  from  the  heap  in  the 
yard,  and  pile  it  up  in  anot'ier  hsap  in  the  field  where  it  is  to  be 
used.  This  has  all  the  effects  of  turning,  and  at  the  sains  time 
saves  a  good  deal  of  team  work  in  the  spring. 


The  location  of  the  manure-heap  in  the 
field  deserves  some  consideration.  If  the 
manure  is  to  ho  used  for  root-crops  or  po- 
tatoes, and  if  the  land  is  to  be  ridged,  and 
the  manure  put  in  the  ridges,  then  it  will 
be  desirable  to  put  the  heap  on  the  head- 
land, or,  better  still,  to  make  two  henps, 
one  on  the  headland  top  of  the  fid  1,  and 
the  other  on  the  headland  at  the  bottom  of 
thefield,as  shown  in  the  annexed  engiaving. 
We  draw  the  manure  with  a  cart,  the 
horse  walking  between  two  of  the  ridges 
(D),  and  the  wheels  of  the  cart  going  in  C 
and  E.  The  manure  is  pulled  ont  at  the 
hack  end  of  the  cart  in^o  small  heaps, 
about  five  paces  apart. 

"That  is  what  I  object   to  with  you 

A,  B,  Manure  Heaps  ;  C,  agricultural  writers,"  said  the  Doctor ;  "  you 
D,E,  Ridges,  2?  ft.  apart.  say  'about  five  paces,'  and  sometimes  '  about 
five  paces  would  mean  4  yards,  and  sometimes  6  yards ;  and  if  you 


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J1Y    OWX    PLAX    OF   MANAGING    MANURE. 


89 


put  10  tons  of  manure  per  acre  in  the  one  case,  you  would  put  15 
tons  in  the  ottier — which  makes  quite  a  difference  in  the  dose." 

The  Doctor  is  right.  Let  us  figure  a  little.  If  your  cart  holds 
20  bushels,  and  if  the  manure  weighs  75  Ibs.  to  the  bushel,  and 
you  wish  to  put  on  10  tons  of  manure  per  acre,  or  1,500  bushels, 
or  13^  cart-loads,  then,  as  there  are  43,560  square  feet  in  an  acre, 
you  want  a  bushel  of  manure  to  29  square  feet,  or  say  a  space  2 
yards  long,  by  nearly  5  feet  wide. 

Now,  as  our  ridges  are  2£  feet  apart,  and  as  our  usual  plan  is 
to  manure  5  ridges  at  a  time,  or  12£  feet  wide,  a  load  of  20 
bushels  of  manure  will  go  over  a  space  46£  feet  long,  nearly,  or 
say  15 £  yards  ;  and  so,  a  load  would  make  3  heaps,  15 £  feet  apart, 
and  there  would  be  6£  bushels  in  each  heap. 


If  the  manure  is  to  be  spread  on  the  surface  of  the  land,  there  is 
no  necessity  for  placing  the  heap  on  the  headland.  You  can  make 
the  heap  or  heaps. — %t  Where  most  convenient,"  broke  in  the  Dea- 
con.— "  No,  not  by  any  means,"  I  replied ;  "  for  if  that  was  the 
rule,  the  men  would  certainly  put  the  heap  just  where  it  happened 
to  be  the  least  trouble  for  them  to  draw  and  throw  off  the  loads." 

The  aim  should  be  to  put  the  heap  just  where  it  will  require 
the  least  labor  to  draw  the  manure  on  to  the  land  in  the  spring. 

On  what  we  call  "  rolling,"  or  hilly  land,  I  would  put  the  heap 
on  the  highest  land,  so  that  in  the  spring  the  horses  would  be 
going  down  hill  with  the  full  carts  or  wagons.  Of  course,  it 
would  be  very  unwise  to  adopt  this  plan  if  the  manure  was  not 


RODS^IORQDS 


P-RQPA, 


Meld,  40x20  Sods,  showing  Position  of  two  Heaps  of  Manure,  a,  a. 

drawn  from  the  yards  until  spring,  when  the  land  was  soft; 
but  I  am  now  speaking  of  drawing  out  the  manure  in  the  winter, 
when  there  is  sleighing,-  or  when  the  ground  is  frozen.  No  farm- 
er will  object  to  a  little  extra  labor  for  the  teams  in  the  winter,  if 
it  will  save  work  and  time  in  the  spring. 


90 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


If  the  land  is  Isvel,  then  the  heap  or  heaps  should  be  placed 
where  the  least  distance  will  have  to  be  traveled  in  drawing  the 
manure  from  the  heap  to  the  land.  If  there  is  only  one  heap,  the 
best  point  would  be  in  the  center  of  the  field.  If  two  heaps,  and 
the  field  is  longer  than  it  is  broad,  say  20  rods  wide,  and  40  rods 
long,  then  the  heaps  should  be  made  as  shown  on  the  previous 
page. 

If  the  field  is  square,  say  40  x  40  rods,  and  we  cm  have  four 
heaps  of  manure,  then,  other  things  being  equal,  the  best  points 
for  the  heaps  are  shown  in  the  annexed  figure : 


Fidd,  40x40  Rods,  showing  Position  of  four  Heaps  of  Manure,  a,  a,  a,  a. 

Having  determined  where  to  make  the  heaps,  the  next  question 
is  in  regard  to  sizs.  We  make  one  about  8  fe?t  wide  and  6  feet 
high,  the  length  being  determined  by  the  quantity  of  the  manure 
we  have  to  draw.  In  cold  weather,  it  is  well  to  finish  the  heap 
each  day  as  far  as  you  go,  so  that  the  sloping  side  at  the  end  of  the 
heap  will  not  be  frozen  during  the  night.  Build  up  the  sides 
square,  so  that  the  top  of  the  heap  shall  be  as  broad  as  the  bottom. 
You  will  have  to  see  that  this  is  done,  for  the  average  farm- 
man,  if  left  to  himself,  will  certainly  narrow  up  the  heap  like  the 
roof  of  a  house.  The  reason  he  does  this  is  that  he  throws  the 
manure  from  the  load  into  the  center  of  the  heap,  and  he  can  not 
build  up  the  sides  straight  and  square  without  getting  on  to  the 
heap  occasionally,  and  placing  a  layer  round  the  outsides.  He 


MY   OWN   PLAN    OF   MANAGING   MANURE.  9l 

should  be  instructed,  too,  to  break  up  the  lumps,  and  mix  the  ma- 
nure, working  it  over  until  it  is  loose  and  fine.  If  there  are  any 
frozen  masses  of  manure,  place  them  on  the  east  or  south  outside, 
and  not  in  the  middle  of  the  heap. 

If  there  is  any  manure  in  the  sheds,  or  basements,  or  cellars,  or 
pig-pens,  clean  it  out,  and  draw  it  at  once  to  the  pile  in  the  field^ 
and  mix  it  with  the  manure  you  are  drawing  from  the  heap  in 
the  yard. 

We  generally  draw  with  two  teams  and  three  wagons.  "We 
have  one  man  to  fill  the  wagon  in  the  yard,  an.l  two  men  to  drive 
and  unload.  When  the  man  comes  back  from  the  field,  he  places 
his  empty  wagon  by  the  side  of  the  heap  in  the  yard,  and  takes 
off  the  horses  and  puts  them  to  the  loaded  wagon,  and  drives  to 
the  heap  in  the  field.  If  we  have  men  and  teams  enough,  we 
draw  with  three  teams  and  three  wagons.  In  this  case,  we  put  a 
reliable  man  at  the  heap,  who  helps  the  driver  to  unload,  and  sees 
that  the  heap  is  built  properly.  The  driver  helps  the  man  in  the 
yard  to  load  up.  In  the  former  plan,  we  have  two  teams  and  three 
men  ;  in  the  latter  case,  we  have  three  teams  and  five  men,  and  as 
we  have  two  men  loading  and  unloading,  instead  of  one,  we  ought 
to  draw  out  double  the  quantity  of  manure  in  a  day.  If  the 
weather  is  cold  and  windy,  we  put  the  blankets  on  the  horses  un- 
der the  harness,  so  that  they  will  not  be  chilled  while  standing  at 
the  heap  in  the  yard  or  field.  They  will  trot  back  lively  with  the 
empty  wagon  or  sleigh,  and  the  work  will  proceed  briskly,  and 
the  manure  be  less  exposed  to  the  cold. 

"  You  do  not,"  said  the  Doctor,  u  draw  the  manure  on  to  the  heap 
•with  a  cart,  and  dump  it,  as  I  have  seen  it  done  in  England  ?  " 

I  did  so  a  few  years  ago,  and  might  do  so  again  if  I  was  piling 
manure  in  the  spring,  to  be  kept  over  summer  for  use  in  the  fall. 
The  compression  caused  by  drawing  the  cart  over  the  manure,  has 
a  tendency  to  exclude  the  air  and  thus  retard  fermentation.  In 
tho  winter  there  is  certainly  no  necessity  for  resorting  to  any 
means  for  checking  fermentation.  In  the  spring  or  summer  it  may 
be  well  to  compress  the  heap  a  little,  but  not  more,  I  think,  than 
can  be  done  by  the  trampling  of  the  workman  in  spreading  the 
manure  on  the  heap. 


"  You_donot>"  said  the  Doctor, "  adopt  the  old-fashioned  English 
plan  of  keeping  your  manure  in  a  basin  in  the  barn-yard,  and  yet 
I  should  think  it  has  some  advantages." 


92  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

"  I  practised  it  here,"  said  I,  "  for  some  years.  I  plowed  and 
scraped  a  large  hole  or  basin  in  the  yard  four  or  five  feet  deep,  with 
a  gradual  slope  at  one  end  for  convenience  in  drawing  out  the 
loads — the  other  sides  being  much  steeper.  I  also  made  a  tank  at 
the  bottom  to  hold  the  drainage,  and  had  a  pump  in  it  to  pump 
the  liquid  back  on  to  the  heap  in  dry  weather.  We  threw  or 
-wheeled  the  manure  from  the  stables  and  pig-pens  into  this  basin, 
but  I  did  not  like  the  plan,  for  two  reasons :  (1,)  the  manure  being 
spread  over  so  large  a  surface  froze  during  winter,  and  (2,)  during 
the  spring  there  was  so  much  water  in  the  basin  that  it  checked 
fermentation." 

Now,  instead  of  spreading  it  all  over  the  basin,  we  commenced  a 
small  heap  on  one  of  the  sloping  sides  of  the  basin;  with  a  horse 
and  cart  we  drew  to  this  heap,  just  as  winter  set  in,  every  bit  of 
manure  that  could  be  found  on  the  premises,  and  everything  that 
would  make  manure.  When  got  all  together,  it  made  a  heap  seven 
or  eight  feet  wide,  twenty  feet  long,  and  three  or  four  feet  high. 
We  then  laid  planks  on  tae  he  ip,  and  every  day,  as  the  pig-pens, 
cow  and  horse  stables  were  cleaned  out,  the  manure  was  wheeled 
on  to  the  heap  and  shaken  out  and  spread  about.  The  heap  soon 
commenced  to  ferment,  and  when  the  cold  weather  set  in,  although 
the  sides  and  some  parts  of  the  top  froze  a  little,  the  inside  kept 
quite  warm.  Little  chimneys  were  formed  in  the  heap,  where  the 
heat  and  steam  escaped.  Other  parts  of  the  heap  would  be  covered 
with  a  thin  crust  of  frozen  manure.  By  taking  a  few  forkfuls  of 
the  latter,  and  placing  them  on  the  top  of  the  "chimneys,"  they 
checked  the  escape  of  steam,  and  had  a  tendency  to  distribute  the 
heat  to  other  parts  of  the  heap.  In  this  way  the  fermentation  be- 
came more  general  throughout  all  the  ma>s,  and  not  so  violent  at 
any  one  spot. 

*'  But  why  be  at  all  this  trouble  ?  " — For  several  reasons,  First. 
It  saves  labor  in  the  end.  Two  hours'  work,  in  winter,  will  save 
three  hours'  work  in  the  spring.  And  three  hours'  work  in  the 
spring  is  worth  more  than  four  hours'  work  in  the  winter.  So 
that  we  save  half  the  expense  of  handling  the  manure.  3d.  When 
manure  is  allowed  to  lie  scattered  about  over  a  large  surface,  it  is 
liable  to  have  much  of  its  value  washed  out  by  the  rain.  In  a  com- 
pact heap  of  this  kind,  the  rain  or  snow  that  falls  on  it  is  not  more 
than  the  manure  needs  to  keep  it  moist  enough  for  fermentation. 
3d.  There  is  as  much  fascination  in  this  fermenting  heap  of 
manure  as  there  is  in  having  money  in  a  savings  bank.  One  is 
continually  trying  to  add  to  it.  Many  a  cart-load  or  wheel-barrow- 
ful  of  material  will  be  deposited  that  would  otherwise  be  allowed 


MY    OWN   PLAN    OF   MANAGING   MANURE.  93 

to  run  to  waste.  4th.  The  manure,  if  turned  over  in  February  or 
March,  will  be  in  capital  order  for  applying  to  root  crops  ;  or  if 
your  hay  and  straw  contains  weed-seeds,  the  manure  will  be  in 
£ood  condition  to  spread  as  a  top-dressing  on  grass-land  early  in 
the  spring.  This,  I  think,  is  better  than  keeping  it  in  the  yards 
all  summer,  and  then  drawing  it  out  on  the  grass  land  in  Septem- 
ber. You  gain  six  months'  or  a  year's  time.  You  get  a  splendid 
growth  of  rich  grass,  and  the  red-root  seeds  will  germinate  next 
September  just  as  well  as  if  the  manure  was  drawn  out  at  that 
time.  If  the  manure  is  drawn  out  early  in  the  spring,  and  spread 
out  immediately,  and  then  harrowed  two  or  three  times  with  a 
Thomas'  smoothing-harrow,  there  is  no  danger  of  its  imparting  a 
rank  flavor  to  the  grass.  I  know  from  repeated  trials  that  when 
part  of  a  pasture  is  top-dressed,  cows  and  sheep  will  keep  it  much 
more  closely  cropped  down  than  the  part  which  has  not  been 
manured.  The  idea  to  the  contrary  originated  from  not  spread- 
ing the  manure  evenly. 

"But  why  ferment  the  manure  at  all ?  Why  not  draw  it  out 
fresh  from  the  yards  ?  Does  fermentation  increase  the  amount  of 
plant-food  in  the  manure  ?  " — No.  But  it  renders  the  plant-food 
in  the  manure  more  immediately  available.  It  makes  it  more 
soluble.  We  ferment  manure  for  the  same  reason  that  we  de- 
compose bone-dust  or  mineral  phosphates  with  sulphuric  acid,  and 
convert  them  into  superphosphate,  or  for  the  same  reason  that  we 
grind  our  corn  and  cook  the  meal.  These  processes  add  nothing 
to  the  amount  of  plant-food  in  the  bones  or  the  nutriment  in  the 
corn.  They  only  increase  its  availability.  So  in  fermenting 
manure.  When  the  liquid  and  solid  excrements  from  well-fed 
animals,  with  the  straw  necessary  to  absorb  the  liquid,  are  placed 
in  a  h3ip,  fermentation  sets  in  and  soon  effects  very  important 
changes  in  the  nature  and  composition  of  the  materials.  The  in- 
soluble woody  fibre  of  the  straw  is  decomposed  and  converted  into 
humic  and  ulmic  acids.  These  are  insoluble ;  and  when  manure 
consists  almost  wholly  of  straw  or  corn  stalks,  there  woul  1  be 
little  gained  by  fermenting  it.  But  when  there  is  a  good  propor- 
tion of  manure  from  well  fed  animals  in  the  heap,  carbonate  of 
ammonia  is  formed  from  the  nitrogenous  compounds  in  the 
manure,  and  this  ammonia  unites  with  the  humic  and  ulmic  acids 
and  forms  humate  and  ulmate  of  ammonia.  These  ammoniacal 
salts  are  soluble  in  water — as  the  brown  color  of  the  drainings  of 
a  manure  heap  sufficiently  indicates. 

Properly  fermented  manure,  therefore,  of  good  quality,  is  a 
much  more  active  and  immediately  useful  fertilizer  than  fresh,  un- 


94  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

fermented  manure.  There  need  be  no  loss  of  ammonia  from 
evaporation,  and  the  manure  is  far  less  bulky,  and  costs  far  less 
labor  to  draw  out  and  spread.  The  only  loss  that  is  likeiy  to 
occur  is  from  leaching,  and  this  must  be  specially  guarded  against. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE   MANAGEMENT    OF   MANURES.— CONTINUED. 
WHY  DO  WE  FERMENT  MANURE? 

However  much  farmers  may  differ  in  regard  to  the  advantages 
or  disadvantages  of  fermenting  manure,  I  have  never  met  with 
one  who  contended  that  it  was  good,  either  in  theory  or  practice, 
to  leave  manure  for  months,  scattered  over  a  barn-yard,  exposed 
to  the  spring  and  autumn  rains,  and  to  the  summer's  sun  and 
wind.  All  admit  that,  if  it  is  necessary  to  leave  manure  in  the 
yards,  it  should  be  either  thrown  into  a  basin,  or  put  into  a  pile 
or  heap,  where  it  will  be  compact,  and  not  much  exposed. 

We  did  not  need  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Vcelcker  to  convince 
us  that  there  was  great  waste  in  leaving  manure  exposed  to  the 
leaching  action  of  our  heavy  rains.  We  did  not  know  exactly  how 
much  we  lost,  but  we  knew  it  must  be  considerable.  No  one  ad 
vocates  the  practice  of  exposing  manure,  and  it  is  of  no  use  to  dis 
cuss  the  matter.  All  will  admit  that  it  is  unwise  and  wasteful  to 
allow  manure  to  lie  scattered  and  exposed  over  the  barn- yards 
any  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 

We  should  either  draw  it  directly  to  the  field  and  use  it,  or  we 
should  make  it  into  a  compact  heap,  where  it  will  not  receive 
more  rain  than  is  needed  to  keep  it  moist. 

One  reason  for  piling  manure,  therefore,  is  to  preserve  it  from 
loss,  until  we  wish  to  use  it  on  the  land. 

"  We  all  admit  that,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but  is  there  anything 
actually  gained  by  fermenting  it  in  the  heap  ?  " — In  one  sense, 
DO  ;  but  in  another,  and  very  important  sense,  yes.  When  we 
cook  corn -meal  for  our  little  pigs,  we  add  nothing  to  it.  We  have 
no  more  meal  after  it  is  cooked  than  before.  There  are  no  more 
starch,  or  oil,  or  nitrogenous  matters  in  the  meal,  but  we  think  the 
pigs  can  digest  the  food  more  readil}'.  And  so,  in  fermenting 


THE    MANAGEMENT    OF   MANURES.  95 

manun ,  we  add  nothing  to  it ;  there  is  no  more  actual  nitrogen, 
or  phosphoric  acid,  or  potash,  or  any  other  ingredient  after  fer- 
mentation than  there  was  before,  but  these  ingredients  are  rendered 
more  soluble,  and  can  be  more  rapidly  taken  up  by  the  j.-iants.  In 
this  sense,  therefore,  there  is  a  great  gain. 

One  thing  is  certain,  we  do  not,  in  many  cases,  get  anything 
like  as  much  benefit  from  our  manure  as  the  ingredients  it  con- 
tains would  lead  us  to  expect. 

Mr.  Lawes,  on  his  clayey  soil  at  Rothanisted,  England,  has 
grown  over  thirty  crops  of  wheat,  year  after  year,  on  the  same 
laud.  One  plot  has  received  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  per 
acre  every  year,  and  yet  the  produce  from  this  plot  is  no  larger, 
and,  in  fact,  is  frequently  much  less,  than  from  a  few  hundred 
pounds  of  artificial  manure  containing  far  less  nitrogen. 

For  nineteen  years,  1852  to  1870,  some  of  the  plots  have  received 
the  same  manure  year  after  year.  The  following  shows  the  aver 
age  yield  for  the  nineteen  years : 

Wheat  Straw 

per  acre.  per  acre, 

Plot  5. — Mixed  mineral  manure,  alone 17  bus.  15  cwt. 

"    6. — Mixed  mineral  manure,  and  200  Ibs.  ammo- 

niacal  salts 27  bus.  25  cwt. 

"    7.— Mixed  mineral  manure,  and  400  Ibs.  ammo- 

niacal  salts £6  bus.  36  cwt. 

"    9. — Mixed  mineral  manure,  and  550  Ibs.  nitrate 

of  soda 37  bus.  41  cwt. 

"    2. — 14  tons  farm-yard  dung £6  bus.  34  cwt. 

The  14  tons  (31,360  Ibs.)  of  farm-yard  manure  contained  about 
8,540  Ibs.  organic  matter,  868  Ibs.  mineral  matter,  and  200  Ibs.  ni- 
trogen. The  400  Ibs.  of  ammoniacal  salts,  and  the  550  Ibs.  nitrate 
of  soda,  each  contained  82  Ibs.  of  nitrogen;  and  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  82  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  produced  as  great  an  effect  as  the  200 
Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  barn-yard  manure. 

Similar  experiments  have  been  made  on  barley,  with  even  more 
striking  results.  The  plot  dressed  with  300  Ibs.  superphosphate  of 
lime,  and  200  Ibs.  ammoniacal  salts  per  acre,  produced  as  large  a 
crop  as  14  tons  of  farm-yard  manure.  The  average  yield  of  barley 
for  nineteen  crops  grown  on  the  same  land  each  year  was  48  bus.  and 
28  cwt.  of  straw  per  acre  on  both  plots.  In  other  words,  41  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen,  in  ammoniacal  salts,  produced  as  great  an  effect  as  200 
Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  farm-yard  manure  !  During  the  nineteen  years, 
one  plot  had  received  162,260  Ibs.  of  organic  matter,  16,492  Ibs.  of 
mineral  matter,  and  3,800  Ibs.  of  nitrogen ;  while  the  other  had 
received  only  5,700  Ibs.  mineral  matter,  and  779  Ibs.  of  nitrogen^ 
and  yet  one  has  produced  as  large  a  crop  as  the  other. 


96  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

Why  this  difference  ?  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  more  nitrogc 
was  applied  in  the  farm-yard  manure  than  was  needed.  MV 
Lawes  says  :  "  For  some  years,  an  amount  of  ammonia-salts,  con 
taming  82  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  was  applied  to  one  series  of  plots  (01 
barley),  but  this  was  found  to  be  too  much,  the  crop  generally 
being  too  heavy  and  laid.  Yet  probably  about  200  Ibs.  of  nitrogen 
was  annually  supplied  in  the  dung,  but  with  it  there  was  no  over- 
luxuriance,  and  DO  more  crop,  than  where  41  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  was 
supplied  in  the  form  of  ammonia  or  nitric  acid." 

It  would  seem  that  there  can  be  but  one  explanation  of  these 
accurately-ascertained  facts.  The  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  ma- 
nure is  not  in  an  available  condition.  It  is  in  the  manure,  but  the 
plants  can  not  take  it  up  until  it  is  decomposed  and  rendered  sol- 
uble. Dr.  Vcelcker  analyzed  "  perfectly  fresh  horse-dung,"  and 
found  that  of  free  ammonia  there  was  not  more  than  one  pound 
in  15  tons  !  And  yet  these  15  tons  contained  nitrogen  enougu  to 
furnish  140  Ibs.  of  ammonia. 

"  But,"  it  may  be  asked,  "  will  not  this  fresh  manure  decompose 
in  the  soil,  and  furnish  ammonia  ?  "  In  light,  sandy  soil,  I  pre- 
sume it  will  do  so  to  a  considerable  extent.  We  know  that  clay 
mixed  with  manura  retards  fermentation,  but  sand  mixed  with 
manure  accelerates  fermentation.  This,  at  any  rate,  is  the  case 
when  sand  is  added  in  small  quantities  to  a  heap  of  fermenting 
manure.  But  I  do  not  suppose  it  would  have  the  same  effect  when 
a  small  quantity  of  manure  is  mixed  with  a  large  amount  of  sand, 
as  is  the  case  when  manure  is  applied  to  land,  and  plowed  under. 
At  any  rate,  practical  farmers,  with  almost  entire  unanimity,  think 
well-rotted  manure  is  better  for  sandy  land  than  fresh  manure. 

As  to  how  rapidly,  or  rather  how  slowly,  manure  decomposes 
in  a  rather  heavy  loamy  soil,  the  above  experiments  of  Mr.  Lawes 
afford  very  conclusive,  but  at  the  sime  time  very  discouraging 
evidence.  During  the  19  years,  3,800  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  and  16,492 
Ibs.  of  mineral  matter,  in  the  form  of  farm-yard  manure,  were  ap- 
plied to  an  acre  of  land,  and  the  19  crops  of  barley  in  grain  and 
straw  removed  only  3,724  Ibs.  of  mineral  matter,  and  1,064  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen.  The  soil  now  contains,  unless  it  has  drained  away, 
1,736  Ibs.  more  nitrogen  per  acre  than  it  did  when  the  experiments 
commenced.  And  yet  41  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  an  available  condit'on 
is  sufficient  to  produce  a  good  large  crop  of  barley,  and  82  Ibs.  per 
acre  furnished  more  than  the  plants  could  organize. 

"  Those  are  very  interesting  experiments,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  ani 
show  why  it  is  that  our  farmers  can  afford  to  pay  a  higher  price 
for  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  in  superphosphate,  and  other  ar« 


THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  MANURES.  97 

tificial  manures,  than  for  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen  and  phos- 
phoric acid  in  stable-manure." 

We  will  not  discuss  this  point  at  present.  What  I  want  to  as- 
certain is,  whether  we  can  not  nnd  some  method  of  making  our 
farm-yard  manure  more  readily  available.  Piling  it  up,  and  let- 
ting it  ferment,  is  one  method  of  doing  this,  though  I  think  other 
methods  will  yet  be  discovered.  Possibly  it  will  be  found  that 
spreading  well-rotted  manure  on  the  surface  of  the  land  will  be 
one  of  the  most  practical  and  simplest  methods  of  accomplishing 
this  object. 

"We  pile  the  manure,  therefore,"  said  Charley,  "first,  because 
we  do  not  wish  it  to  lie  exposed  to  the  rain  in  the  yards, 
and,  second,  because  fermenting  it  in  the  heap  renders  it  more 
soluble,  and  otherwise  more  available  for  the  crops,  when  applied 
to  the  land."- 

That  is  it  exactly,  and  another  reason  for  piling  manure  is,  that 
the  fermentation  greatly  reduces  its  bulk,  and  we  have  less  labor 
to  perform  in  drawing  it  out  and  spreading  it.  Ellwanger  & 
Barry,  who  draw  several  thousand  loads  of  stable-manure  every 
year,  and  pile  it  up  to  ferment,  tell  me  that  it  takes  three  loads  of 
fresli  manure  to  make  one  load  of  rotted  manure.  This,  of  course, 
has  reference  to  bulk,  and  not  weight.  Three  tons  of  fresh  barn-yard 
manure,  according  to  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Voelcker,  will  make 
about  two  tons  when  well  rotted.  Even  this  is  a  great  saving  of 
labor,  and  the  rotted  manure  can  be  more  easily  spread,  and  mixed 
more  thoroughly  with  the  soil — a  point  of  great  importance. 


t{  Another  reason  for  fermenting  manure,"  said  the  Squire,  "  is 
the  destruction  of  weed-seeds." 

"That  is  true,"  said  I,  "  and  a  very  important  reason  ;  but  I  try 
not  to  think  about  this  method  of  killing  weed-seeds.  It  is  a  great 
deal  better  to  kill  the  weeds.  There  c-an  be  no  doubt  that  a  fer- 
menting manure-heap  will  kill  many  of  the  weed-seeds,  but  enough 
will  usually  escape  to  re-seed  the  land." 

It  is  fortunate,  however,  that  the  best  means  to  kill  weed-seeds 
in  the  manure,  are  also  the  best  for  rendering  the  manure  most 
efficient.  I  was  talking  to  John  Johnston  on  this  subject  a  few 
days  ago.  He  told  me  how  he  piled  manure  in  his  yards. 

"  I  commence,"  he  said,  "  where  the  heap  is  intended  to  bo,  and 
throw  the  manure  on  one  side,  until  the  bare  ground  is  reached." 

"  What  is  the  use  of  that  ?"  I  asked. 

"  If  you  do  not  do  so,"  he  replied,  "  there  will  be  some  portion  of 
5 


98  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

the  manure  under  the  heap  that  will  be  so  compact  that  it  will  not 

ferment,  and  the  weed-seeds  will  not  be  killed." 

"  You  think,"  said  I,  "-  that  weed-seeds  can  be  killed  in  this  way?  " 
"  I  know  they  can,"  he  replied,"  but  the  heap  must  be  carefully 

made,  so  that  it  will  ferment  evenly,  and  when  the  pile  is  turned, 

the  bottom  and  sides  should  be  thrown  into  the  center  of  the  heap." 

LOSS    OF  AMMONIA   BY    FERMENTING    MANURE. 

If  you  throw  a  quantity  of  fresh  horse-manure  into  a  loose  heap, 
fermentation  proceeds  with  great  rapidity.  Much  heat  is  produced, 
and  if  the  manure  is  under  cover,  or  tbere  is  not  rain  enough  to 
keep  the  heap  moist,  the  manure  will  "fire-fang"  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  carbonate  of  ammonia  produced  by  the  fermentation 
will  escape  into  the  atmosphere  and  be  lost. 

As  I  have  said  before,  we  use  our  horse-manure  for  bedding  the 
store  and  fattening  pigs.  We  throw  the  manure  every  morning 
and  evening,  when  the  stable  is  cleaned  out,  into  an  empty  stall 
near  the  door  of  the  stable,  and  there  it  remains  until  wanted  to 
bed  the  pigs.  We  find  it  is  necessary  to  remove  it  frequently, 
especially  in  the  summer,  as  fermentation  soon  sets  in,  and  the 
escape  of  the  ammonia  is  detected  by  its  well  known  pungent 
smell.  Throw  this  manure  into  the  pig-cellar  and  let  the  pigs 
trample  it  down,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  escape  of  ammonia. 
At  any  rate,  I  have  never  perceived  any.  Litmus  paper  will  detect 
ammonia  in  an  atmosphere  containing  only  one  seventy  five 
thousandth  part  of  it;  and,  as  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson  once  remarked, 
"It  is  certain  that  a  healthy  nose  is  not  far  inferior  in  delicacy  to 
litmus  paper."  I  feel  sure  that  no  ammonia  escapes  from  this 
horse-manure  after  it  is  trampled  clown  by  the  pigs,  although  it 
contains  an  additional  quantity  of  "  potential  ammonia  "  from  the 
liquid  and  solid  droppings  of  these  animals. 

Water  has  a  strong  attraction  for  ammonia.  One  gallon  of  ice- 
cold  water  will  absorb  1,150  gallons  of  ammonia. 

If  the  manure,  therefore,  is  moderately  moist,  the  ammonia  is 
not  likely  to  escape.  Furthermore,  as  Dr.  Vo3lcker  has  shown  us, 
during  the  fermentation  of  the  manure  in  a  heap,  ulmic  and  humic, 
crenic  and  aprocrenic  acids  are  produced,  and  these  unite  with 
the  ammonia  and  "fix"  it— in  other  words,  they  change  it  from 
a  volatile  gas  into  a  non-volatile  salt. 

If  the  heap  of  manure,  therefore,  is  moist  enough  and  large 
enough,  all  the  evidence  goes  to  show,  that  there  is  little  or  no 
loss  of  ammonia.  If  the  centre  of  the  heap  gets  so  hot  and  so  dry 
that  the  ammonia  is  not  retained,  there  is  still  no  necessity  for  loss. 


tHE  MANAGEMENT  OF  MANURES.  99 

The  sides  of  the  heap  are  cool  and  moist,  and  will  retain  the  car- 
bonate of  ammonia,  the  acids  mentioned  also  coming  into  play. 

The  ammonia  is  much  more  likely  to  escape  from  the  top  of  the 
heap  than  from  the  sides.  Tae  heat  and  steam  form  little  chim- 
neys, and  when  a  fermenting  manure-heap  is  covered  with  snow, 
these  little  chimneys  are  readily  seen.  If  you  think  the  manure  is 
fermenting  too  rapidly,  and  that  the  ammonia  is  escaping,  trample 
the  manure  down  firmly  about  the  chimneys,  thus  closing  them  up, 
and  if  need  be,  or  if  convenient,  throw  more  manure  on  top,  or 
throw  on  a  few  pailfuls  of  water. 

It  is  a  good  plan,  too,  where  convenient,  to  cover  the  heap  with 
soil.  I  sometimes  do  this  when  piling  manure  in  the  field,  not 
from  fear  of  losing  ammonia,  but  in  order  to  retain  moisture  in 
the  heap.  With  proper  precautions,  I  think  we  may  safely  dismiss 
the  idea  of  any  serious  loss  of  ammonia  from  fermenting  manure. 

THE    WASTE    OF    MANURE    FROM    LEACHING. 

As  we  have  endeavored  to  show,  there  is  little  danger  of  losing 
ammonia  by  keeping  and  fermenting  manure.  But  this  is  not  the 
only  question  to  be  considered.  We  have  seen  that  in  10,000  Ibs. 
of  fresh  farm-yard  manure,  there  is  about  644bs.  of  nitrogen.  Of 
this,  about  15  Ibs.  are  soluble,  and  49  Ibs.  insoluble.  Of  mineral 
matter,  we  have  in  this  quantity  of  manure,  559  Ibs.,  of  which  154 
Ibs.  are  soluble  in  water,  and  405  Ibs.  insoluble.  If  we  had  a  heap 
of  five  tons  of  fermenting  manure  in  a  stable,  the  escape  of  half  an 
ounce  of  carbonate  of  ammonia  would  make  a  tremendous  smell, 
and  we  should  at  once  us?  means  to  check  the  escape  of  this  pre- 
cious substance.  But  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  in  this  five  tons 
of  fresh  manure,  nitrogenous  matter,  capable  of  forming  over 
180  Ibs.  of  carbonate  of  ammonia,  over  42  Ibs.  of  which  is  in  a 
soluble  condition.  This  may  be  leached  day  after  day,  slowly  and 
imperceptibly,  with  no  heat,  or  smell,  to  attract  attention. 

How  often  do  we  see  manure  lying  under  the  eaves  of  an  un- 
spouted  shed  or  barn,  where  one  of  our  heavy  showers  will  satu- 
rate it  in  a  few  minutes,  and  yet  where  it  will  lie  for  hours,  and 
days,  and  weeks,  until  it  would  seem  that  a  large  proportion  of  its 
soluble  matter  would  be  washed  out  of  it !  The  loss  is  unques- 
tionably very  great,  and  would  be  greater  if  it  were  not  for  the 
coarse  nature  of  the  material,  which  allows  the  water  to  pass 
through  it  rapidly  and  without  coming  in  direct  contact  with  only 
the  outside  portions  of  the  particles  of  hay,  straw,  etc.,  of  which 
the  manure  is  largely  composed.  If  the  manure  was  ground  up 
very  fine,  as  it  would  be  when  prepared  for  analysis,  the  loss  of 


100  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

soluble  matter  would  be  still  more  serious.  Or,  if  the  manure  was 
first  fermented,  so  that  the  particles  of  matter  would  be  more  or 
less  decomposed  and  broken  up  fine,  the  rain  would  wash  out  a 
large  amount  of  soluble  matter,  and  prove  much  more  injurious 
than  if  the  manure  was  fresh  and  un fermented. 

"  That  is  an  argument,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  against  your  plan  of 
piling  and  fermenting  manure." 

"  Not  at  all,"  I  replied  ;  "  it  is  a  strong  reason  for  not  letting 
manure  lie  under  the  eaves  of  an  unspouted  building — especially 
good  manure,  that  is  made  from  rich  food.  The  better  the  manure, 
ths  more  it  will  lose  from  bad  management.  I  have  never 
recommended  any  one  to  pile  their  manure  where  it  would  receive 
from  ten  to  twenty  times  as  much  water  as  would  fall  on  the  sur 
face  of  the  heap." 

"  But  you  do  recommend  piling  manure  and  ferment  ing  it  in  the 
open  air  and  keeping  the  top  flat,  so  that  it  will  catch  all  the  rain, 
and  I  think  your  heaps  must  sometimes  get  pretty  well  soaked." 

"Soaking  the  heap  of  manure,"  I  replied,  "  does  not  wash  out 
any  of  its  soluble  matter,  provided  you  carry  the  matter  no  further 
than  the  point  of  saturation.  The  water  may,  and  doubtless  does, 
wash  out  the  soluble*matter  from  some  portions  of  the  mar.ur^,  but 
if  the  water  does  not  filter  through  the  heap,  but  is  all  absorbed  by 
the  manure,  there  is  no  loss.  It  is  when  the  water  passes  through 
the  heap  that  it  runs  away  with  our  soluble  nitrogenous  and  min- 
eral matter,  and  with  any  ready  formed  ammonia  it  may  find  in 
the  manure." 

How  to  keep  cows  tied  up  in  the  barn,  a^-d  at  the  same  time 
save  all  the  urine,  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  I  have  to 
deal  with  in  the  management  of  manure  on  my  farm.  The  best 
plan  I  have  yet  tried  is,  to  throw  horse-manure,  or  sheep-manure, 
back  of  the  cows,  where  it  will  receive  and  absorb  the  urine.  The 
plan  works  well,  but  it  is  a  question  of  labor*  and  the  answer  will 
depend  on  the  arrangement  of  the  buildings.  If  the  horses  are 
kept  near  the  cows,  it  will  be  little  trouble  to  throw  the  horse- 
litter,  every  day,  under  or  back  of  the  cows. 

In  my  own  case,  my  cows  are  kept  in  a  basement,  with  a  tight 
barn -floor  overhead.  When  this  barn-floor  is  occupied  with  sheep, 
we  keep  them  well-bedded  with  straw,  and  it  is  an  easy  matter  to 
throw  this  soiled  bedding  down  to  the  cow-stable  below,  where  it 
is  used  to  absorb  the  urine  of  the  cows,  and  is  then  wheeled  out  to 
the  manure-heap  in  the  yard. 

At  other  times,  we  use  dry  earth  as  an  absorbent. 


MANURE    ON    DAIRT-FABMS.  1(K 

CHAPTER     XXII. 
MANURE    ON   DAIRY-FARMS. 

Farms  devoted  principally  to  dairying  ought  to  be  richer  and 
more  productive  than  farms  largely  devoted  to  the  production  of 
grain. 

Nearly  all  the  produce  of  the  farm  is  used  to  feed  the  cows,  and 
little  is  sold  but  milk,  or  cheese,  or  butter. 

When  butter  alone  is  sold,  there  ought  to  be  no  loss  of  fertilizing 
matter — as  pure  butter  or  o.l  contains  no  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid,  or  potash.  It  contains  nothing  but  carbonaceous  matter, 
which  can  be  removed  from  the  farm  without  detriment. 

AnJ  even  in  the  case  of  milk,  or  cheese,  the  advantage  is  all  on 
tlie  side  of  the  dairyman,  as  compared  with  the  grain-grower.  A 
dollar's  worth  of  milk  or  cheese  removes  far  less  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash,  than  a  dollar's  worth  of  wheat  or  other 
grain.  Five  hundred  Ibs.  cf  cheese  contains  about  25  Ibs.  of  nitro- 
gen, and  20  Ibs.  of  mineral  matter.  A  cow  that  would  make  this 
amount  of  cheese  would  eat  not  less  than  six  tons  of  hay,  or  its 
equivalent  in  grass  or  grain,  in  a  year.  And  this  amount  of  food, 
supposing  it  to  be  half  clover  and  half  ordinary  meadow-hay, 
would  contain  240  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  and  810  Ibs.  of  mineral  matter. 
In  other  words,  a  cow  eats  240  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  and  25  Ibs.  are  re- 
moved in  the  cheese,  or  not  quite  10^  per  cent,  and  of  mineral 
matter  not  quite  2J  per  cent  is  removed.  If  it  takes  three  acres 
to  produce  this  amount  of  food,  there  will  be  8£  Ibs.  of  nitrogen 
removed  by  the  cheese,  per  acre,  while  30  bushels  of  wheat  would 
remove  in  the  grain  32  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  and  10  to  15  Ibs.  in  the 
straw.  So  that  a  crop  of  wheat  removes  from  five  to  six  times  as 
much  nitrogen  per  acre  as  a  crop  of  cheese  ;  and  the  removal  of 
mineral  matter  in  cheese  is  quite  insignificant  as  compared  with 
the  amount  removed  in  a  crop  of  wheat  or  corn.  If  our  grain- 
growing  farmers  can  keep  up  the  fertility  of  their  land,  as  they 
undoubtedly  can,  the  dairymen  ought  to  bo  making  theirs  richer 
and  more  productive  every  year. 

"  All  that  is  quite  true,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and  yet  from  what  I 
have  seen  and  heard,  the  farms  in  the  dairy  districts,  do  not,  as  a 
rule,  show  any  rapid  improvement.  In  fact,  we  hear  it  often 
alleged  that  the  soil  is  becoming  exhausted  of  phosphates,  and  that 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  grass  is  deteriorating/' 


102  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

"There  may  be  some  truth  in  this,"  said  I,  "and  yet  I  will 
hazard  the  prediction  that  in  no  other  branch  of  agriculture  shall 
we  witness  a  more  decided  improvement  during  the  next  twenty- 
five  years  than  on  farms  largely  devoted  to  the  dairy.  Grain-grow- 
ing farmers,  like  our  Menu  the  Deacon,  here,  who  sells  bis  grain 
and  never  brings  home  a  load  of  manure,  and  rarely  buys  even  a 
ton^of  bran  to  feed  to  stock,  and  who  sells  more  or  less  hay,  must 
certainly  be  impoverishing  their  soils  of  phosphates  much  more 
rapidly  than  the  dairyman  who  consumes  nearly  all  his  produce 
on  the  farm,  and  sells  Uttle  except  milk,  butter,  cheese,  young 
calves,  and  old  cows." 

"Bones  bad,  a  wonderful  effect,"  said  the  Doctor,  "on  the  old 
pastures  in  the  dairy  district  of  Cheshire  in  England." 

"  Undoubtedly,"  I  replied,  "and  so  they  will  here,  and  so  would 
well-rotted  manure.  There  is  nothing  in  this  fact  to  prove  that 
dairying  specially  robs  the  soil  of  phosphates.  It  is  not  phosphates 
that  the  dairyman  needs  so  much  as  richer  manure." 

"  What  would  you  add  to  the  manure  to  make  it  richer?"  as'.:ed 
the  Doctor. 

"Nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,"  I  replied. 

"  But  how  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

<:  I  suppose,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  by  buying  guano  and  the  German 
potash  salts." 

"  That  would  be  a  good  plan,"  said  I ;  "  but  I  would  do  it  by  buy- 
ing bran,  mill-feed,  brewer's-grains,  malt-combs,  corn-meal,  oil- 
cake, or  whatever  was  best  and  cheapest  in  proportion  to  value. 
Bran  or  mill-feed  can  often  be  bought  at  a  price  at  which  it  will  pay 
to  USG  it  freely  for  manure.  A  few  tons  of  bran  worked  into  a 
pile  of  cow-dung  would  warm  it  up  and  add  considerably  to  its 
value.  It  would  supply  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash, 
in  which  ordinary  manure  is  d  ficient.  In  short,  it  would  convert 
paor  manure  into  rich  manure." 

"  Well,  well,"  exclaimed  the  Deacon, "  I  knew  you  talked  of  mix- 
ing dried-blood  and  bone-dust  with  your  manure,  but  I  did  not 
think  you  would  advocate  anything  quite  so  extravagant  as  taking 
good,  wholesome  bran  and  spout-feed  and  throwing  it  on  to  your 
manure-pile." 

"  Why,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "we  do  it  every  day.  I  am  putting 
about  a  ton  of  spout-feed,  malt-combs  and  corn-meal  each  week 
into  my  manure-pile,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  it  ferments  so 
readily  even  in  the  winter.  It  converts  my  poor  manure  into  good, 
rich,  well-decomposed  dung,  one  load  of  which  is  worth  three  loads 
of  your  long,  strawy  manure." 


MANURE    ON   DAIRY-FARMS.  103 

"  Do  you  not  wet  it  and  let  it  ferment  before  putting  it  in  the 
pile?" 

" No,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "I  feed  tlie  bran,  malt-combs  and  corn- 
meal  to  the  cows,  pigs,  and  sheep,  and  let  them  do  the  mixing. 
They  work  it  up  fine,  moisten  it,  break  up  the  particles,  take  out 
the  carbonaceous  matter,  which  we  do  not  need  for  manure,  and 
the  cows  and  sheep  and  horses  mix  it  up  thoroughly  with  the  hay, 
straw,  and  corn-stalks,  leaving  the  whole  in  just  the  right  con- 
dition to  put  into  a  pile  to  ferment  or  to  apply  directly  to  the  land." 

"  Oh  !  I  see,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  did  not  think  you  used  bran 
for  manure." 

"  Yes,  I  do,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "  but  I  use  it  for  food  first,  and  this 
is  precisely  what  I  would  urge  you  and  all  others  to  do.  I  feel 
sure  that  our  dairymen  can  well  afford  to  buy  more  mill-feed, 
corn-meal,  oil-cake,  etc.,  and  mix  it  with  their  cow-dung — or 
rather,  let  the  cows  do  the  mixing." 

LETTER   FROM   THE   HON.  HARRIS    LEWIS. 

I  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Harris  Lewis,  the  well  known  dairyman  of 
Herkiiner  Co.,  N.  Y.,  asking  him  some  questions  in  regard  to  mak- 
ing and  managing  manure  on  dairy  farms.  The  questions  will  be 
understood  from  the  answers.  He  Avrites  as  follows: 

"  My  Friend  Harris. — This  being  the  first  leisure  time  I  have  had 
since  the  receipt  of  your  last  letter,  I  devote  it  to  answering  your 
questions : 

"  1st.  I  have  no  manure  cellar. 

"  I  bed  my  cows  with  dry  basswood  sawdust ,  saving  all  the 
liquid  manure,  keeping  the  cows  clean,  and  the  stable  odors  down 
to  a  tolerable  degree.  This  bedding  breaks  up  the  tenacity  of  the 
cow-manure,  rendering  it  as  easy  to  pulverize  and  manage  as  clear 
horse-manure.  I  would  say  it  is  just  lovely  to  bed  cows  with  dry 
basswood  sawdust.  This  manure,  if  left  in  a  large  pile,  will  ferment 
and  burn  like  horse-manure  in  about  10  days.  Hence  I  draw  it 
out  as  made  where  I  desire  to  use  it,  leaving  it  in  small  heaps,  con- 
venient to  spread. 

"  My  pigs  and  calves  aro  bedded  with  straw,  and  this  is  piled 
and  rotted  before  using. 

"  I  use  most  of  my  manure  on  grass  land,. and  mangels,  some  on 
corn  and  potatoes ;  but  it  pays  me  best,  when  in  proper  condition, 
to  apply  all  I  do  not  need  for  mangels,  on  meadow  and  pasture. 

•  "Forty  loads,  or  about  18  to  20  cords  is  a  homoeopathic  dose  for 
an  acre,  and  this  quantity,  or  more,  applied  once  in  three  years  to 
grass  land,  agrees  with  it  first  rate. 


104  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  The  land  where  I  grow  mangels  gets  about  this  dose  every  year 

"  I  would  say  that  my  up-land  meadows  have  been  mown  twice 
each  year  for  a  great  many  years. 

"  I  have  been  using  refuse  salt  from  Syracuse,  on  my  mangels, 
at  the  rate  of  about  six  bushels  per  acre,  applied  broadcast  in  two 
applications.  My  hen-manure  is  pulverized,  and  sifted  through  a 
common  coal  sieve.  The  fine  I  use  for  dusting  the  mangels  after 
they  have  been  singled  out,  and  the  lumps,  if  any,  are  used  to 
warm  up  the  red  peppers. 

"  I  have  sometimes  mixed  my  hen-manure  with  dry  muck,  in 
the  proportion  of  one  bushel  of  hen-manure  to  10  of  muck,  and 
received  a  profit  from  it  too  big  to  tell  of,  on  corn,  and  on  mangels. 

"  I  have  sprinkled  the  refuse  salt  on  my  cow-stable  floors  some- 
times, but  where  all  tho  liquid  is  saved,  I  think  we  have  salt  enough 
for  most  crops. 

"  I  have  abandoned  the  use  of  plaster  on  my  pastures  for  the 
reason  that  milk  produced  on  green-clover  is  not  so  good  as  that 
produced  on  the  grasses  proper.  I  use  all  the  wood  ashes  I  can  get, 
on  my  mangels  as  a  duster,  andx  consider  their  value  greater  than 
the  burners  do  who  sell  them  to  me  for  15  cts.  a  bushel.  I  have 
never  used  much  lime,  and  have  not  received  the  expected  benefits 
from  its  use  so  far.  But  wood  ashes  agree  with  my  land  as  well 
as  manure  docs.  The  last  question  you  ask,  but  one,  is  this: 
'  What  is  the  usual  plan  of  managing  manure  in  the  dairy  districts  ? ' 
The  usual  method  is  to  cut  holes  in  the  sides  of  the  stable,  about 
every  ten  feet  along  the  whole  length  of  the  barn  behind  the  cows, 
and  pitch  the  manure  out  through  these  holes,  under  the  eaves  of 
the  barn,  where  it  remains  until  too  much  in  the  way,  when  it  is 
drawn  out  and  commonly  applied  to  grass  land  in  lumps  as  big  as 
your  head.  This  practice  is  getting  out  of  fashion  a  little  now,  but 
nearly  one-half  of  all  the  cow-manure  made  in  Herkimer  Co.  is 
lost,  wasted. 

"  Your  last  question, '  What  improvement  would  you  suggest,' 
I  answer  by  saying  it  is  of  no  use  to  make  any  to  these  men,  it 
would  be  wasted  like  their  manure. 

u  The  market  value  of  manure  in  this  county  is  50  cts.  per  big 
load,  or  about  one  dollar  per  cord." 


"  That  is  a  capital  letter,"  said  the  Deacon.  "  It  is  right  to  the 
point,  and  no  nonsense  about  it." 

"He  must  make  a  good  deal  of  manure,"  said  the  Doctor, 
"  to  be  able  to  use  40  loads  to  the  acre  en  his  meadows  and 


MANURE    OX    DAIRY-FARMS.  105 

pastures  once  in  three  years,  and  the  same  quantity  every  year  on 
his  field  of  mangel-wurzel." 

"  That  is  precisely  what  I  have  been  contending  for,"  I  replied ; 
"  the  dairymen  can  make  large  quantities  of  manure  if  they  make  an 
effort  to  do  it,  and  their  farms  ought  to  be  constantly  improving. 
Two  crops  of  hay  on  the  same  meadow,  each  year,  will  enable  a 
farmer  to  keep  a  large  herd  of  cows,  and  make  a  great  quantity  of 
manure — and  when  you  have  once  got  the  manure,  there  is  no  dif- 
ficulty in  keeping  up  and  increasing  the  productiveness  of  the  land." 

HOW    TO    MAKE   MORE   AND    BETTER   MANURE    ON   DAIRY 
FARMS. 

"  You  are  right,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  in  saying  that  there  is  no  dif- 
ficulty in  keeping  up  and  increasing  the  productiveness  of  our  dairy 
farms,  when  you  have  once  got  plenty  of  manure — but  the  difficulty 
is  to  get  a  good  supply  of  manure  to  start  with." 

This  is  true,  and  it  is  comparatively  slow  work  to  bring  up  a 
farm,  unless  you  have  plenty  of  capital  and  can  buy  all  the  artificial 
manure  you  want.  By  the  free  use  of  artificial  manures,  you  could 
make  a  farm  very  productive  in  one  or  two  years.  But  the  slower 
and  cheaper  method  will  be  the  one  adopted  by  most  of  our  young 
and  intelligent  dairymen.  Few  of  us  arc  born  with  silver  spoons 
in  our  mouths.  We  have  to  earn  our  money  before  we  can  spend  it, 
and  we  are  none  the  worse  for  the  discipline. 

Suppose  a  young  man  has  a  farm  of  100  acres,  devoted  principally 
to  dairying.  Some  of  the  land  lies  on  a  creek  or  river,  while  other 
portions  are  higher  and  drier.  In  the  spring  of  the  year,  a  stream 
of  water  runs  through  a  part  of  the  farm  from  the  adjoining  hills 
down  to  the  creek  or  river.  The  farm  now  supports  ten  head  of 
cows,  three  horses,  half  a  dozen  sbesp,  and  a  few  pigs.  The  land  is 
worth  $75  per  acre,  but  does  not  pay  the  interest  on  half  that  sum. 
It  is  getting  worse  instead  of  better.  Weeds  are  multiplying,  and 
the  more  valuable  grasses  are  dying  out.  What  is  to  be  done  ? 

In  the  first  place,  let  it  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  land  is 
not  exhausted.  As  I  have  before  said,  the  productiveness  of  a  farm 
does  not  depend  so  much  on  the  absolute  amount  of  plant-food 
which  the  soil  contains,  as  on  the  amount  of  plant-food  which  is 
immediately  available  for  the  use  of  the  plants.  An  acre  of  land 
that  produces  half  a  ton  of  hay,  may  contain  as  much  plant-food 
as  an  acre  that  produces  three  tons  of  hay.  In  the  one  case  the 
plant-food  is  locked  up  in  such  a  form  that  the  crops  cannot  absorb 
it,  while  in  the  other  it  is  in  an  available  condition.  I  have  no 
doubt  there  are  fields  on  the  farm  I  am  alluding  to,  that  contain 


106  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

3,000  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  and  an  equal  amount  of  phosphoric 
acid,  per  acre,  in  the  first  six  inches  of  the  surface  soil.  This 
is  as  much  nitrogen  as  is  contained  in  100  tons  of  meadov?- 
hay,  and  more  phosphoric  acid  than  is  contained  in  350  tons  of 
meadow-hay.  These  are  the  two  ingredients  on  which  the  fertility 
of  our  farms  mainly  depend.  And  yet  there  are  soils  containing 
this  quantity  of  plant-food  that  do  not  produce  more  than  half 
a  ton  of  hay  per  acre. 

In  some  fields,  or  parts  of  fields,  the  land  is  wet  and  the  plants 
cannot  take  up  the  food,  even  while  an  abundance  of  it  is  within 
reach.  The  remedy  in  this  case  is  under-draining.  On  other 
fields,  the  plant-food  is  locked  up  in  insoluble  combinations.  In 
this  case  we  must  plow  up  the  soil,  pulverize  it,  and  expose  it  to  the 
oxygen  of  the  atmosphere.  We  must  treat  the  soil  as  my  mother 
used  to  tell  me  to  treat  my  coffee,  when  I  complained  that  it  was 
not  sweet  enough.  "  I  put  plenty  of  sugar  in,"  she  said,  "and  if 
you  will  stir  it  up,  the  coffee  will  be  sweeter."  The  sugar  lay  un- 
dissolvcd  at  the  bottom  of  the  cup ;  and  so  it  is  with  many  of  our 
soils.  There  is  plenty  of  plant-food  in  them,  but  it  needs  stirring 
up.  They  contain,  it  may  be,  3,OCO  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  and  other 
plant-food  hi  still  greater  proportion,  and  we  are  only  getting  a 
crop  that  contains  18  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  a  year,  and  of  this  probably 
the  rain  supplies  9  Ibs.  Let  us  stir  up  the  soil  and  see  if 
we  cannot  set  100  Ibs.  of  this  3,000  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  free,  and 
get  three  tons  of  hay  par  acre  instead  of  half  a  ton.  There  are 
men  who  own  a  large  amount  of  valuable  property  in  vacant  city 
lots,  who  do  not  get  enough  from  them  to  pay  their  taxes.  If  they 
would  sell  half  of  them,  and  put  buildings  on  the  other  half,  they 
might  soon  have  a  hindsome  income.  And  so  it  is  with  many 
farmers.  They  have  the  elements  of  100  tons  of  hay  lying  dor- 
ment  in  every  acre  of  their  land,  while  they  are  content  to  .receive 
half  a  ton  a  year.  They  have  property  enough,  but  it  is  unproduc 
tive,  while  they  pay  high  taxes  for  the  privilege  of  holding  it,  and 
high  wages  for  the  pleasure  of  boarding  two  or  three  hired  men. 

We  have,  say,  3,000  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  locked  up  in  each  acre 
of  our  soil,  and  we  get  8  or  10  Ibs.  every  year  in  rain  and 
dew,  and  yet,  practically,  all  that  we  want,  to  make  our  farms 
highly  productive,  is  100  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  par  acre  per  annum. 
And  furthermore,  it  should  be  remembered,  that  to  keep  our  farms 
rich,  after  we  have  once  got  them  rich,  it  is  not  necessary  to  de- 
velope  this  amount  of  nitrogen  from  the  soil  every  year.  In  the 
case  of  clover-hay,  the  entire  loss  of  nitrogen  in  the  animal  and  in 
the  milk  would  not  exceed  15  per  cent,  so  that,  when  we  feed  out 


MANURE    ON   DAIRY-FARMS,  107 

100  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  we  have  85  Ibs.  left  in  the  manure.  We 
want  to  develope  100  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  to  enable  us 
to  raise  a  good  crop  to  start  with,  and  when  this  is  once  done,  an 
annual  development  of  15  Ibs.  per  acre  in  addition  to  the  manure, 
would  keep  up  the  productiveness  of  the  soil.  Is  it  not  worth 
while,  therefore,  to  make  an  earnest  effort  to  get  started  ? — to  get 
100  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  the  most  available  condition  in  the  soil? 

As  I  said  before,  tlas  is  practically  all  that  is  needed  to  give  us 
large  crops.  This  amount  of  nitrogen  represents  about  twelve  tons 
of  average  barn-yard  manure — that  is  to  say,  twelve  tons  contains 
100  Ibs.  of  nitrogen.  But  hi  point  of  fact  it  is  not  in  an  imme- 
diately available  condition.  It  would  probably  take  at  least  two 
years  before  all  the  nitrogen  it  contains  would  be  given  up  to  the 
plants.  We  want,  therefore,  in  order  to  give  us  a  good  start, 
24  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  on  every  acre  of  land.  How  to 
get  this  is  the  great  problem  which  our  young  dairy  farmer  has  to 
solve.  In  the  grain-growing  districts  we  get  it  in  part  by  summer- 
fallowing,  and  I  believe  the  dairyman  might  often  do  the  same 
thing  with  advantage.  A  thorough  summer-fallow  would  not 
only  clean  the  land,  but  would  render  some  of  the  latent  plant- 
food  available.  This  will  be  organized  in  the  next  crop,  and  when 
the  dairyman  has  once  got  the  plant-food,  he  has  decidedly  the 
advantage  over  the  grain-growing  farmer  in  his  ability  to  retain  it. 
He  need  not  lose  over  16  per  cent  a  year  of  nitrogen,  and  not  one 
per  cent  of  the  other  elements  of  plant-food. 

The  land  lying  on  the  borders  of  the  creek  could  be  greatly 
benefiteel  by  cutting  surface  ditches  to  let  off  the  water;  and  later, 
probably  it  will  be  found  that  a  few  underdrains  can  be  put  in  to 
advantage.  These  alluvial  soils  on  the  borders  of  creeks  and  rivers 
are  grand  sources  of  nitrogen  and  other  plant-food.  I  do  not  know 
the  fact,  but  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  meadows  which  Harris 
Lewis  mows  twice  a  year,  are  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  are 
perhaps  flooded  in  the  spring.  But,  be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  a 
field  on  the  farm  I  am  alluding  to,  lying  on  the  creek,  which  now 
produces  a  bountiful  growth  of  weeds,  rushes,  and  coarse  grasses, 
which  I  am  sure  could  easily  be  made  to  produce  great  crops  of 
hay.  The  creek  overflows  in  the  spring,  and  the  water  lies  on 
some  of  the  lower  parts  of  the  field  until  it  is  evaporated.  A  few 
ditches  would  allow  all  the  water  to  pass  off,  and  this  alone  would 
be  a  great  improvement.  If  the  field  was  flooded  in  May  or  June, 
and  thoroughly  cultivated  and  harrcwed,  the  sod  would  be  suffi- 
ciently rotted  to  plow  again  in  August.  Then  a  thorough  harrow 
ing,  rolling,  and  cultivating,  would  make  it  as  mellow  as  a  garden, 


108  TALKS    ON    MANUUES. 

and  it  could  be  seeded  down  with  timothy  and  other  good  grasses 
the  Lst  of  August,  or  beginning  of  September,  and  produce  a  good 
crop  of  hay  the  next  year.  Or,  if  thought  betler,  it  might  bj  sown 
to  rye  and  seeded  down  with  it.  In  either  case  the  land  would  be 
greatly  improved,  and  would  be  a  productive  meadow  or  pasture 
for  years  to  come — or  until  our  young  dairyman  could  afford  to 
give  it  one  of  Harris  Lewis'  "  homo3Opathic  "  doses  of  40  loads  of 
good  manure  per  acre.  He  would  then  be  able  to  cut  two  crops 
of  hay  a  year — and  such  hay  !  But  we  are  anticipating. 

That  stream  which  runs  through  the  farm  in  the  spring,  and 
then  dries  up,  could  be  made  to  irrigate  several  acres  of  the  land 
adjoining.  Tnis  would  double,  or  treble,  or  quadruple,  ("  hold  on," 
said  the  Deacon,)  the  crops  of  grass  as  far  as  the  water  reached. 
The  Deacon  does  not  seem  to  credit  this  statement ;  but  I  have 
seen  wonderful  effects  produced  by  such  a  plan. 

What  I  am  endeavoring  to  show,  is,  that  these  and  similar  means 
will  give  us  larger  crops  of  hay  and  grass,  and  these  in  turn  will 
enable  us  to  keep  more  cow:>,  and  make  more  manure,  and  the 
manure  will  enable  us  to  grow  larger  crops  on  other  portions  of 
the  farm. 

I  am  aware  that  many  will  object  to  plowing  up  old  grass  land, 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  be  misunderstood  on  this  point.  If  a  farmer 
has  a  meadow  that  will  produce  two  or  three  tons  of  hay,  or  support 
a  cow,  to  the  acre,  it  would  be  folly  to  break  it  up.  It  is  already 
doing  all,  or  nearly  all,  that  can  be  asked  or  desired.  But  suppose 
you  have  a  piece  of  naturally  good  land  that  d  ^es  not  produce  a 
ton  of  hay  per  acre,  or  pasture  a  cow  on  three  acres,  if  such  land 
can  b3  plowed  without  great  difficulty,  I  would  break  it  up  as 
early  in  the  fall  as  possible,  and  summer-fallow  it  thoroughly,  nnd 
seed  it  down  again,  heavily,  with  grass  seeds  the  next  August.  If 
the  land  does  not  need  draining1,  it  will  not  forget  this  treatment 
for  many  years,  and  it  will  b3  the  farmer's  own  fault  if  it  ever  runs 
down  again. 

In  this  country,  where  wages  are  so  high,  we  must  raise  large 
crops  per  acre,  or  not  raise  any.  Where  land  is  cheap,  it  may  some- 
times pay  to  compel  a  cow  to  travel  over  three  or  four  acres  to  get 
her  food,  but  we  cannot  afford  to  raise  our  hay  in  half  ton  crops ; 
i.  costs  too  much  to  harvest  them.  High  wages,  high  taxes,  and 
high  priced  land,  necessitate  high  farming;  and  by  high  farming,  I 
mean  growing  large  crops  every  year,  and  on  every  portion  of  the 
farm  ;  but  high  wages  and  low-priced  land  do  rot  necessarily  demand 
high  fanning.  If  the  land  is  cheap  we  can  suffer  it  to  lie  idle  with- 
out mush  loss.  But  when  we  raise  crops,  whether  on  high-priced 


MANURE    ON    DAIllY-FARMS.  109 

land  or  on  low-priced  land,  we  must  raise  good  crops,  or  the  expense 
of  cultivating  and  harvesting  them  will  eat  up  all  the  profits  In 
the  dairy  districts,  I  believe  land,  in  proportion  to  its  quality  and 
nearness  to  market,  commands  a  higher  price  than  land  in  the  grain- 
growing  districts.  Hence  it  follows  that  high  farming  should  be 
the  aim  of  the  American  dairyman^ 

I  am  told  that  there  are  farms  in  the  dairy  districts  of  this  State 
worth  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  acre, 
on  which  a  cow  to  four  acres  for  the  year  is  considered  a  good 
average.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Little  Falls  Farmers'  Club,  the  Hon. 
Josiah  Shull,  gave  a  statement  of  the  receipts  and  expenses  of  his 
farm  of  81|  acres.  The  farm  cost  $130  per  acre.  He  kept  twenty 
cows,  and  fatted  one  for  beef.  The  receipts  were  as  follows : 

Twenty  cows  yielding  8,337  Ibs.  of  cheese,  at  at^ut  14£  cents 

per  pound $1,186.33 

Increase  on  beef  cow 40  00 

Calves 45.00 

Total  receipts $1,271.33 

EXPENSES. 

Boy,  six  months  and  board $180.00 

•  Man  by  the  year,  and  board 3CO.OO 

Carting  in  ilk  and  manufacturing  cheese 215.00 

Total  cost  of  labor "$755.00 

THE   OTHER  EXPENSES  WERE  : 

Fertilizers,  plants,  etc $  18.00 

Horse-shoeing  and  other  repairs  of  farming  implements,  (which 

is  certainly  pretty  cheap,) 50.00 

"Wear  and  tear  of  implements 65.00 

Average  repairs  of  place  and  buildings 175.00 

Average  depreciation  and  interest  on  stock 180.00 

Insurance 4.00 

Incidental^,  (also  pretty  low,) 50.00 

$620.00 

Total  receipts $1,271.33. 

Total  expenses 1,375.00. 

This  statement,  it  is  said,  the  Club  considered  a  very  fair  estimate. 

Now,  here  is  a  farm  costing  $10,595,  the  receipts  from  which, 
saying  nothing  cbout  interest,  are  less  than  the  expenses.  And  if 
you  add  two  cents  per  pound  more  to  the  price  of  the  cheese,  the 
profit  would  still  be  only  about  $50  per  year.  The  trouble  is  not 
so  much  in  the  low  price  of  cheese,  as  in  the  low  product  per  acre. 
I  know  some  grain-growing  farmers  who  have^done  no  better  than 
this  for  a  few  years  past. 

Mr.  Shull  places  the  annual  depreciation  and  interest  on  stock  at 
$180,  equal  to  nearly  one-seventh  of  the  total  receipts  of  the  farm. 
It  would  pay  the  wages  and  board  of  another  man  for  six  months, 


110  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

Can  not  it  be  avoided  ?  Good  beef  is  relatively  much  higher  in 
this  State  than  good  cheese.  Some  of  the  dairy  authorities  tell  us 
that  cheese  is  the  cheapest  animal  food  in  the  world,  while  beef  is 
the  dearest.  Why,  then,  should  our  dairymen  confine  their  atten- 
tion to  the  production  of  the  cheapest  of  farm  products,  and  neg- 
lect almost  entirely  the  production  of  the  dearest?  If  beef  is  high 
and  cheese  low,  why  not  raise  more  beef  ?  On  low-priced  land  it 
may  be  profitable  to  raise  and  keep  cows  solely  for  the  production 
of  cheese,  and  when  the  cows  are  no  longer  profitable  for  this  pur- 
pose, to  sacrifice  them — to  throw  them  aside  as  we  do  a  worn-out 
machine.  And  in  similar  circumstances  we  may  be  able  to  keep 
sheep  solely  for  their  wool,  but  on  high-priced  land  we  can  not 
afford  to  keep  sheep  merely  for  their  wool.  We  must  adopt  a 
higher  system  of  farming  and  feeding,  and  keep  sheep  that  will 
give  us  wool,  lambs,  and  mutton.  In  parts  of  South  America, 
where  land  costs  nothing,  cattle  can  be  kept  for  their  bones,  tallow, 
and  hides,  but  where  food  is  costly  we  must  make  better  use 
of  it.  A  cow  is  a  machine  for  converting  vegetable  food  into  veal, 
butter,  cheese,  and  beef.  The  first  cost  of  the  machine,  if  a  good 
one,  is  considerable— say  $100.  This  machine  has  to  be  kept  run- 
ning night  and  day,  summer  and  winter,  week  days  and  Sundays. 
If  we  were  running  a  steam-flouring  mill  that  could  never  be 
allowed  to  stop,  we  should  be  careful  to  lay  in  a  good  supply  of 
coal  and  also  have  plenty  of  grain  on  hand  to  grind,  so  that  the 
mill  would  never  have  to  run  empty.  No  sensible  man  would 
keep  up  steam  merely  to  run  the  mill.  He  would  want  to  grind 
all  the  time,  and  as  much  as  possible ;  and  yet  coal  is  a  much 
cheaper  source  of  power  than  the  hay  and  corn  with  which  we 
run  our  milk-producing  machine.  How  often  is  the  latter  allowed 
to  run  empty  ?  The  machine  is  running  night  and  day— must  run, 
but  is  it  always  running  to  advantage?  Do  we  furnish  fuel 
enough  to  enable  it  to  do  full  work,  or  only  little  more  than  enough 
to  run  the  machinery  ? 

"  What  has  all  this  to  do  with  making  manure  on  dairy  farms?  " 
asked  the  Deacon;  "you  are  wandering  from  the  point." 

"  I  hope  not ;  I  am  trying  to  show  that  good  feeding  will  pay 
better  than  poor  feeding— and  better  food  means  better  manure." 

I  estimate  that  it  takes  from  15  to  18  Ibs.  of  ordinary  hay  per 
day  to  run  this  cow-machine,  which  we  have  been  talking  about, 
even  when  kept  warm  and  comfortable ;  and  if  exposed  to  cold 
storms,  probably  not  less  than  20  Ibs.  of  hay  a  day,  or  its 
equivalent,  and  this  merely  to  keep  the  machine  running,  without 
doing  any  work.  It  requires  this  to  keep  the  cow  alive,  and  to  pre- 


MANURE    ON   DAIKY-FARMS.  Ill 

vent  her  losing  flesh.  If  not  supplied  with  the  requisite  amount 
of  food  for  this  purpose,  she  will  take  enough  fat  and  flesh  from 
her  own  body  to  make  up  the  deficiency ;  and  if  she  cannot  get  it, 
the  machine  will  stop — in  other  words,  the  cow  will  die. 

We  have,  then,  a  machine  that  costs  say  $100 ;  tliat  will  last  on 
an  average  eight  years;  that  requires  careful  management;  that 
must  have  constant  watching,  or  it  will  be  liable  to  get  out  of 
order,  and  that  requires,  merely  to  keep  it  running,  say  20  Ibs. 
of  hay  per  day.  Now,  what  do  we  get  in  return  ?  If  we  furnish 
only  20  Ibs.  of  hay  per  day  we  get-  nothing  except  manure. 
If  we  furnish  25  Ibs.  of  hay  per  day,  or  its  equivalent,  we  get, 
say  half  a  pound  of  cheese  per  day.  If  we  furnish  30  Ibs.  we 
get  one  pound  of  cheese  per  day,  or  365  Ibs.  a  year.  We  may 
not  get  the  one  pouncl  of  cheese  every  day  in  the  year;  sometimes 
the  cow,  instead  of  giving  milk,  is  furnishing  food  for  her  embryo 
calf,  01  storing  up  fat  and  flesh;  and  this  fat  and  flesh  will  be  used 
by  and  by  to  produce  milk.  But  it  all  comes  from  the  food  eaten 
by  the  cow ;  and  is  equal  to  one  pound  of  cheese  per  day  for  SO 
Ibs.  of  hay  or  its  equivalent  consumed;  20  Ibs.  of  hay  gives 
us  nothing;  25  Ibs.  of  hay  gives  us  half  a  pound  of  cheese,  or 
40  Ibs.  of  cheese  from  one  ton  of  hay;  30  Ibs.  gives  us  one 
pound,  or  66|  Ibs.  of  cheese  from  one  ton  of  hay ;  35  Ibs. 
gives  us  1£  Ibs. ,  or  85*/7  Ibs.  of  cheese  to  one  ton  of  hay ;  40 
Ibs.  gives  us  2  Ibs  of  cheese,  or  100  Ibs.  of  cheese  from  one  ton 
of  hay ;  45  Ibs.  gives  us  2%  Ibs.  of  cheese,  or  111  Ibs.  of  cheese 
from  one  ton  of  hay ;  50  Ibs.  gives  us  3  Ibs.  of  cheese,  or  120  Ibs.  of 
cheese  from  one  ton  of  hay. 

On  this  basis,  one  ton  of  hay,  in  excess  of  tlie  amount  required  to 
keep  up  the  animal  heat  and  smia'.n  the  v'taf  functions,  gives  us  200 
Ibs.  of  cheese.  The  point  I  wish  to  illustrate  by  these  figures, 
which  are  of  course  hypothetical,  is,  that  it  is  exceedingly  desirable 
to  get  animals  that  will  cat,  dijest,  and  assimilate  a  large  amount  of 
food,  over  and  above  that  required  to  keep  up  the  heat  of  the 
body  and  sustain  the  vital  functions.  When  a  cow  eats  only  25 
Ibs.  of  hay  a  day,  it  requires  one  ton  of  hay  to  produce  40 
Ibs.  of  cheese.  But  if  we  could  induce  her  to  cat,  digest,  and 
assimilate  50  Ibs.  a  day,  one  ton  would  produce  120  Ibs.  of 
cheese.  If  a  cow  eats  33  Ibs.  of  hay  per  day,  or  its  equivalent 
in  grass,  it  will  require  four  acres  of  land,  with  a  productive 
capacity  equal  to  1-J-  tons  of  hay  per  acre,  to  keep  her  a  year. 
Such  a  cow,  according  to  the  figures  given  above,  will  produce 
401|  Ibs.  of  cheese  a  year,  or  its  equivalent  in  growth  A 
farm  of  80  acres,  on  this  basis,  would  support  20  co\T3,  yielding, 


112  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

say  8,000  Ibs.  of  cheese.  Increase  the  productive  power  cf  the 
farm  one  half,  (I  hope  the  Deacon  has  not  gone  to  sleep),  and  kejp 
20  cows  tuat  will  eat  half  as  much  again  food,  and  we  should  Uen 
get  21,600  Ibs.  of  cheese.  If  chees.)  is  worth  15  cents  per  lb., 
a  farm  of  80  acres,  producing  1£  tons  of  hay,  or  its  equivalent,  per 
acre,  and  supporting  20  cows,  would  give  us  a  gross  return  of 
$1,204.50.  The  same  farm  so  improved  as  to  produce  2£  tons  of 
Lay  or  its  equivalent,  per  acre — led  to  20  cows  capable  of  eating  ^ 
digesting,  and  a&8Jmilj,ting  it  -would  give  a  gross  return  of  $3,240. 

In  presenting  these  figures,  I  hope  you  will  not  think  me  a 
visionary.  I  do  not  think  it  is  possible  to  get  a  cow  to  produce 
3  Ibs.  of  cheese  a -day  throughout  the  whole  year.  But  I  do 
think  it  quite  possible  to  so  breed  and  feed  a  cow  that  she  will  pro- 
duce 3  Ibs.  of  checs3  per  day,  or  its  equivalent  in  veal,  flesh, 
or  fat.  We  frequently  have  cows  that  produce  3  Ibs.  of 
cheese  a  day  for  several  weeks ;  and  a  cow  can  be  so  fed  that  Lhe 
will  produce  3  Ibs.  of  cheese  a  day  without  losing  weight. 
And  if  she  can  extract  this  amount  of  matter  out  of  the  food  for  a 
part  of  the  year,  why  can  not  she  do  so  for  the  whole  year?  Arc  the 
powers  of  digestion  weaker  in  the  fall  and  winter  than  in  spring 
and  summer?  If  not,  we  unquestionably  sustain  great  loss  by 
allowing  this  digestive  power  to  run  to  waste.  This  digestive 
power  costs  us  20  Ibs.  of  hay  a  day.  We  can  ill  afford  to  let  it 
lie  dormant.  But  the  Deacon  will  tell  me  that  the  cows  are 
allowed  all  the  food  they  will  eat,  winter  and  summer.  Then  we 
must,  if  they  have  digestive  power  to  spare,  endeavor  to  persaude 
them  to  eat  more.  If  they  eat  as  much  hay  or  grass  as  their 
stomachs  are  capable  of  holding,  we  must  endeavor  to  give  them 
richer  hay  or  grass.  Not  one  farmer  in  a  thousand  seems  to  appre- 
ciate the  advantage  of  having  hay  or  grass  containing  a  high  per- 
centage of  nutriment.  I  have  endeavored  to  show  that  a  cow  eat- 
ing six  tons  of  hay,  or  its  equivalent,  in  a  year,  would  produce  400 
Ibs.  of  cheese,  worth  $60.  While  a  cow  capable  of  eating, 
digesting,  and  turning  to  good  account,  nine  tons  of  hay,  or  its 
equivalent,  would  produce  1,090  Ibs.  of  cheese,  or  its  equivalent 
in  other  products,  worth  $162. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  interrupt  the  gentleman,"  said  the  Deacon  with 
mock  gravity. 

"  Then  pray  don't,"  said  I ;  "I  will  not  detain  you  long,  and  the 
subject  is  one  which  ought  to  interest  you  and  every  other  farmer 
who  keeps  his  cows  on  poor  grass  in  summer,  and  corn-stalks  and 
straw  in  winter." 

I  was  going  to  say,  when  the  Deacon  interrupted  me,  that  the 


MANURE    ON    DAIRY-FARMS.  113 

stomach  of  a  cow  may  not  allow  her  to  eat  nine  tons  of  Lay  a  year, 
but  it  will  allow  her  to  eat  six  tons;  and  if  these  six  tons  contain 
as  much  nutriment  as  the  nine  tons,  what  is  the  real  difference  in 
its  value  ?  Ordinarily  we  should  probably  ^stirnate  the  one  at 
$10  per  ton,  and  the  other  at  $15.  But  according  to  the  above 
figures,  one  is  worth  $10  per  ton  and  the  other  $27.  To  get  rich 
grass,  therefore,  should  be  the  aim  of  the  American  dairyman.  I 
hopj  the  Deacon  begins  to  see  what  connection  this  has  with  a 
large  pile  of  rich  manure. 

I  do  not  mean  merely  a  heavy  growth  of  grass,  but  grass  con- 
taining a  high  percentage  of  nutriment.  Our  long  winters  and 
heavy  snows  are  a  great  advantage  to  us  in  this  respect.  Our 
grass  in  the  spring,  after  its  long  rest,  ought  to  start  up  like  aspara- 
gus, and,  under  the  organizing  influence  of  our  clear  skies,  and 
powerful  sun,  ought  to  be  exceedingly  nutritious.  Comparatively 
few  farmers,  however,  live  up  to  their  priv. leges  in  this  respect. 
Our  climate  is  better  than  our  farming,  the  sun  richer  than  our 
neglected  soil.  England  may  be  able  to  produce  more  grass  per 
acre  in  a  year  than  wo  can,  but  we  ought  to  produce  richer  grass, 
and,  consequently,  more  cheese  to  a  cow.  And  I  believe,  in  fact, 
that  such  is  often  the  case.  The  English  dairyman  has  the  advan- 
tage of  a  longer  season  of  growth.  We  have  a  shorter  season  but 
a  brighter  sun,  and  if  we  do  not  have  richer  grass  it  is  due  to  the 
want  of  draining,  clean  culture,  and  manuiing.  The  object  of 
American  dairymen  should  be,  not  only  to  obtain  more  grass  per 
acre,  but  to  increase  its  nutriment  in  a  given  bulk.  If  we  could 
increase  it  one-half,  making  six  tons  equal  to  nine  tons,  we  have 
shown  that  it  is  nearly  three  times  as  valuable.  Whether  this  can 
be  done,  I  have  not  now  time  t:>  consi-.ier;  but  at  any  rate  if  your 
laud  produces  as  many  weeds  as  elo  some  fields  on  my  farm,  not 
to  say  the  Deacon's,  and  if  the  plant-food  that  these  weeds  absorb, 
coukl  be  organized  by  nutritious  grasses,  this  alone  would  do  a 
good  deal  towards  accomplishing  the  object.  Whether  this  can  be 
done  or  not,  we  want  cows  that  can  eat  and  turn  to  good  account 
as  much  food  per  annum  as  "is  contained  in  nine  tons  of  ordinary 
meadow-hay  ;  and  we  want  this  nutriment  in  a  bulk  not  exceeding 
six  tons  of  hay.  If  possible,  we  should  get  this  amount  of  nutri- 
ment in  grass  or  hay.  But  if  we  can  not  d<?  this,  we  must  feed 
enough  concentrated  food  to  bring  it  up  to  the  desired  standard. 


"  But  will  it  pay  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon.  -,  u  I  have  not  much  faitb 
in  buying  feed.    A  farmer  ought  to  raise  ^verything  he  feeds  out '' 


114  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"As  a  rule,  tliis  may  be  true,"  I  replied,  "but  there  are  many 
exceptions.  I  am  trying  to  show  that  it  will  often  pay  a  dairyman 
well  to  buy  feed  rich  in  nitrogen  and  phosphates,  so  as  to  make 
rich  manure,  and  give  him  a  start.  After  he  gets  his  land  rich, 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  keeping  up  its  productiveness 

"  Now,  I  nave  said — and  the  figures,  if  anything,  are  too  low — that 
if  a  cow,  eating  six  tons  of  hay.  or  its  equivalent,  a  year,  produces 
400  Ibs.  of  cheese,  a  cow  capable  of  eating,  digesting,  and  turning 
to  good  account  nine  tons  of  hay,  or  its  equivalent,  a  year,  would 
produce  1,090  Ibs.  of  cheese,  or  its  equivalent  in  other  products." 

I  would  like  to  say  much  more  on  this  subject,  but  1  hope 
enough  has  b33n  sail  to  show  that  tiiere  is  gr^at  advantage  in 
feeding  rich  food,  even  so  far  as  the  production  of  milk  or  beef  is 
concerned ;  and  if  this  is  the  casa,  then  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
making  rich  manure  on  a  dairy-farm. 

And  I  am  delighted  to  know  that  many  farmers  in  the  dairy 
districts  are  purchasing  more  and  more  bran  and  meal  every  year. 
Ta'ving  milk,  and  beef,  and  manure  all  into  the  account,  I  feel  sure 
that  it  will  be  found  highly  profitable  ;  but  you  must  have  good 
cows — cows  that  can  turn  their  extra  food  to  good  account. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  merits  of  the  different  breeds 
of  cows.  All  I  wish  to  show  is,  that  to  make  better  manure,  we 
must  use  richer  food ;  and  to  feed  this  to  advantage,  we  must  have 
animals  that  can  turn  a  large  amount  of  food,  over  and  above  the 
amount  required  to  sustain  the  vital  functions,  into  milk,  flesh,  etc. 

"  You  do  not  think,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  a  well-bred  cow 
makes  any  richer  manure  than  a  common  cow  ? " 

Of  course  not ;  but  to  make  rich  manure,  we  must  feed  well ; 
and  we  can  not  afford  to  feed  well  unless  we  have  good  animals. 

HOW  TO    SAVE    AND    APPLY    MANURE   ON  A  DAIRY-FARM. 

We  can  not  go  into  details  on  this  subject.  The  truth  is,  there 
are  several  good  methods  of  saving  manure,  and  which  is  best  de- 
pends entirely  on  circumstances.  The  real  point  is  to  save  the 
urine,  and  keep  the  cow-stable  clean  and  sweet.  There  are  three 
prominent  methods  adopted : 

1st.  To  throw  all  the  liquid  and  solid  excrements  Into  a  manure- 
cellar  underneath  the  cow-stable.  In  this  cellar,  dry  swamp- 
muck,  dry  earth,  or  other  absorbent  material,  is  mixed  with  the 
manure  in  sufficient  quantity  to  keep  down  offensive  odors.  A 
little  dry  earth  or  muck  is  also  used  in  the  stable,  scattering  it 
twice  a  day  hi  the  gutters  and  under  the  hind  legs  of  the  cows. 
Where  this  is  carried  out,  it  has  many  and  decided  advantages. 


MANURE    ON    DAIRY-FARMS.  115 

2d  To  wheel  or  throw  out  the  solid  parts  of  the  manure,  and 
to  have  a  drain  for  carrying  the  liquid  into  a  tank,  where  it  can 
be  pumped  on  to  the  heap  of  manure  in  the  yard.  "Where  many 
horses  or  sheep  are  kept,  and  only  a  few  cows,  this  plan  can  often 
be  used  to  advantage,  as  the  heap  of  manure  in  the  yard,  consist 
ing  of  horse-manure,  sheep-manure,  and  a  small  por.ion  of  cow- 
dung,  will  be  able  to  absorb  all  the  urine  of  the  cows. 

3d.  To  use  sufficient  bedding  to  absorb  all  the  urine  in  the  sta- 
ble. In  my  own  case,  as  I  have  said  before,  we  usually  chaff  all 
our  straw  and  stalks.  The  orts  are  used  for  bedding,  and  we  also 
use  a  little  dry  earth — or,  to  be  more  exact,  I  use  it  when  I  attend 
to  the  matter  myself,  but  have  always  found  more  or  less  trouble 
in  getting  the  work  done  properly,  unless  I  give  it  personal  atten 
tion.  To  use  "  dirt'*  to  keep  the  stable  clean,  is  not  a  popular  plan 
in  this  neighborhood.  Where  there  is  an  abundance  of  straw,  and 
especially  if  cut  into  chaff,  the  easiest  way  to  keep  the  stable  clean, 
and  the  cows  comfortable,  is  to  use  enough  of  this  chaffed  straw 
to  absorb  all  the  liquid.  Clean  out  the  stable  twice  a  day,  and 
wheel  the  manure  directly  to  the  Leap,  and  spread  it. 


In  regard  to  the  application  of  manure  on  a  dairy-farm,  we  have 
seen  what  Harris  Lewis  does  with  his.  I  also  wrote  to  T.  L.  Har- 
ison,  Esq.,  of  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  T.  ;  and  knowing  that  he  is 
not  only  a  very  intelligent  farmer  and  breeder,  but  also  one  of  our 
best  agricultural  writers,  1  asked  him  if  he  had  written  anything 
on  the  subject  of  manures. 

"  St.  Lawrence  Co.,"  said  the  Deacon,  "produces  capital  grass, 
oats,  and  barley,  but  is,  1  should  think,  too  far  north  for  winter 
wheat;  but  what  did  Mr.  Harison  say?" — Here  is  his  letter: 

"  I  never  wrote  anything  about  manure.  Catch  me  at  it !  NOT 
do  I  know  anything  about  the  management  of  barn-yard  manure 
worth  telling.  My  own  practice  is  dictated  quite  as  much  by  con- 
venience as  by  considerations  of  economy." 

"  Good,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  he  writes  like  a  sensible  man." 

"  My  rotation,"  he  continues,  "is  such  that  the  bulk  of  the  ma- 
iwre  made  is  applied  to  one  crop  ;  that  is,  to  my  hoed  crops,  corn, 
potatoes,  and  roots,  in  the  second  year. 

"  The  manure  from  the  stables  is  thrown  or  wheeled,  out  under 
the  sheds  adjoining,  and  as  fast  as  it  becomes  so  large  a  quantity 
as  to  be  in  the  way,  or  whenever  there  is  an  opportunity,  it  is 
hauled  out  to  the  field,  where  it  is  to  be  used,  and  put  in  large 
piles.  It  is  turned  oace,  if  possible,  in  the  spring,  and  then  spread 


118  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  The  quantity  applied,  is,  as  near  as  may  be,  25  loads  per  acre; 
but  as  we  use  a  great  deal  of  straw,  we  haul  out  30  loads,  and  es- 
timate that  in  tbe  spring  it  will  be  about  25  loads. 

"  If  we  have  any  more  (..nd  occasionally  we  have  100  loads  over), 
•we  pile  it  near  the  barn,  and  turn  it  once  or  twice  during;  the  sum- 
mer, ard  use  it  as  seems  most  profitable — sometimes  to  top-dress 
an  old  grass-field,  that  for  some  reason  we  prefer  not  to  break  for 
another  year.  Sometimes  it  goes  on  a  piece  of  fall  wheat,  and 
sometimes  is  kept  over  for  a  barley  field  the  following  spring,  and 
harrowed  in  just  before  sowing. 

"  I  should  spread  the  manure  as  it  comes  fvom  the  sheds,  instead 
of  piling  it,  but  the  great  quantity  of  snow  we  usually  have,  has 
always  seemed  to  be  an  insuperable  obstacle.  It  is  an  advantage 
to  pile  it,  and  to  give  it  one  turning,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
piles  made  in  cold  weather  freeze  through,  and  they  take  a  pro- 
vokingly  long  time  to  thaw  out  in  the  spring.  I  never  found  ma- 
nure piled  out  of  doors  to  get  too  much  water  from  rain. 

"  I  have  given  up  using  gypsum,  except  a  little  in  the  stables,  be- 
cause the  clover  grows  too  strong  without  it,  and  so  long  as  this 
is  the  case,  I  do  not  need  gypsum.  But  I  sometimes  have  a  piece 
of  oats  or  barley  that  stands  still,  and  looks  sick,  and  a  dose  of 
gypsum  helps  it  very  much." 

"  That  is  a  fact  worth  remembering,"  said  the  Deacon. 

**  I  use  some  superphosphate,"  continues  Mr.  Harison,  "and 
some  ground  bones  on  my  turnips.  We  also  use  superphosphate 
en  oats,  barley,  and  wheat  (about  200  Ibs.  per  acre),  and  find  it 
pays.  Last  year,  our  estimate  was,  on  10  acres  of  oats,  comparing 
with  a  strip  in  the  middle,  left  for  the  purpose,  that  the  200  Ibs.  of 
superphosphate  increased  the  crop  15  bushels  per  acre,  and  gave  a 
gain  in  quality.  It  was  the  "  Manhattan,"  which  has  about  three  per 
cent  ammonia,  and  seven  to  eight  per  cent  soluble  phosphoric  acid. 

"  My  rotation,  which  I  stick  to  as  close  as  I  can,  is:  1,  oats;  2, 
corn,  and  potatoes,  and  roots  ;  3,  barley  or  spring  wheat ;  4,  5,  and 
6,  grass  (clover  or  tirnot'iy,  with  a  little  mixture  occasionally). 

"  I  am  trying  to  get  to  4,  fall  wheat,  but  it  is  mighty  risky." 


11  That  is  a  very  sensible  letter,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  but  it  is  evi- 
dent that  he  raises  more  grain  than  I  supposed  was  generally  the 
case  in  the  dairy  districts  ;  and  the  fact  that  his  clover  is  so  heavy 
that  he  does  not  need  plaster,  indicates  that  his  land  is  rich." 

It  merely  confirms  what  I  have  said  all  along,  and  that  is,  that 
the  dairymen,  if  they  will  feed  their  animals  liberally,  and  culti- 


MANAGEMENT    OF   MANURES    ON   GRAIN-FARMS.        117 

vate  tbeir  soil  thoroughly,  can  soon  have  productive  farms.  There 
are  very  few  of  us  in  this  section  who  can  make  manure  enough 
to  give  all  our  corn,  potatoes,  and  roots,  25  loads  of  rotted  manure 
per  acre,  and  have  some  to  spare. 

In  the  spring  of  1877,  Mr.  Harison  wrote :  "  I  have  been  hauling 
out  manure  all  winter  as  fast  as  made,  and  putting  it  on  the  land. 
At  first  we  spread  it ;  but  when  deep  snows  came,  we  put  it  in 
small  heaps.  The  field  looks  as  if  there  had  been  a  grain  crop  on 
it  left  uncut." 

44  That  last  remark,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  indicates  that  the  manure 
looks  more  like  straw  than  well-rotted  dung,  and  is  an  argument 
in  favor  of  your  plan  of  piling  the  manure  in  the  yard  or  field,  in- 
stead of  spreading  it  on  the  land,  or  putting  it  in  small  heaps." 


CHAPTER     XXIII. 

MANAGEMENT    OF   MANURES    ON    GRAIN-FARMS. 

"  I  am  surprised  to  find,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  Mr.  Harison, 
living  as  he  does  in  the  great  grass  and  dairy  district  of  this  State, 
should  raise  so  much  grain.  He  has  nearly  as  large  a  proportion 
of  his  land  under  the  plow  as  some  of  the  best  wheat-growers  of 
Western  New  York." 

This  remark  of  the  Deacon  is  right  to  the  point.  The  truth  is, 
thac  some  of  our  best  wheat-growers  are  plowing  less  land,  and 
are  raising  more  grass,  and  keeping  more  stock  ;  and  some  of  the 
dairymen,  though  not  keeping  less  stock,  are  plowing  more  land. 
The  better  farmers  of  both  sections  are  approaching  each  other. 

At  all  events,  it  is  certain  that  the  wheat  growers  will  keep 
more  stock.  I  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Geo.  Geddes,  of  Onondaga  Co., 
N.  Y.,  well  known  as  a  large  wheat-grower,  and  as  a  life-long  ad- 
vocate of  keeping  up  the  fertility  of  our  farms  by  growing  clover. 
He  replies  as  follows : 

"  I  regret  that  I  have  not  time  to  give  your  letter  the  consiclcri- 
tion  it  deserves.  The  subject  you  have  undertaken  is  truly  a  dif- 
ficult one.  The  circumstances  of  a  grain-raiser  and  a  dairyman 
are  so  unlike,  that  their  views  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  the 
manure  produced  on  the  farm  would  vary  as  greatly  as  the  lines 
of  farming  they  follow. 


118  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

41  The  grain-grower  has  straw  in  excess  ;  he  tries  hard  to  get  it 
into  such  form  that  he  can  draw  it  to  his  fields,  and  get  it  at  work, 
at  the  least  cost  in  labor.  So  he  covers  his  barn -yards  deep  with 
straw,  after  each  snow-storm,  and  gets  his  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses, 
to  trample  it  under  foot ;  and  he  makes  his  pigs  convert  all  he  can 
into  such  form  that  it  will  do  to  apply  it  to  his  pastures,  etc. ,  in 
winter  or  early  spring. 

"  A  load  of  such  manure  is  large,  perhaps,  but  of  no  very  great 
value,  as  compared  with  well-rotted  stable-manure  from  grain-fed 
horses  ;  but  it  is  as  good  as  much  that  I  have  seen  drawn  from 
city  stables,  and  carried  far,  to  restore  the  worn-out  hay-fields  on 
the  shores  of  the  North  River — in  fact,  quite  like  it. 

"The  dairyman,  generally,  has  but  little  straw,  and  his  manure 
is  mostly  dung  of  cows,  worth  much  more,  per  cord,  than  the 
straw-litter  of  the  grain-growe:s. 

"The  grain-grower  will  want  no  sheds  for  keeping  off  the  rain, 
but,  rather,  he  will  desire  more  water  than  will  fall  on  an  open 
yard.  The  milkman  will  wish  to  protect  his  cow-dung  from  all 
rains,  or  even  snows ;  so  he  is  a  great  advocate  of  manure-sheds. 
These  two  classes  of  farmers  will  adopt  quite  unlike  methods  of 
applying  their  manure  to  crops. 

"  I  have  cited  these  two  classes  of  farmers,  simply  to  show  the 
difficulty  of  making  any  universal  laws  in  regard  to  the  treatment 
and  use  of  barn-yard  manure.  *  *  * 

"  I  think  you  and  I  arc  fully  agreed  in  regard  to  the  farm  being 
the  true  source  of  the  manure  that  is  to  make  the  land  grow  bet- 
ter with  use,  and  still  produce  crops — perhaps  you  will  go  with 
me  so  far  as  to  say,  the  greater  the  crops,  the  more  manure  tLey 
will  make — and  the  more  manure,  the  larger  the  crops. 

"  Now,  I  object  to  any  special  farming,  when  applied  to  a  whole 
great  division  of  country,  such  as  merely  raising  grain,  or  devoted 
entirely  to  dairying. 

"I  saw  at  Rome,  K.  Y.,  these  two  leading  branches  of  New 
York  farming  united  on  the  Huntington  tract  of  1,300  acres. 
Three  or  four  farms  (I  forget  which)  had  separate  and  distinct 
management,  conducted  by  different  families,  but  each  had  a  dairy 
combined  with  the  raising  of  large  crops  of  grain,  such  as  wheat, 
corn,  oats,  etc.  These  grain-crops,  with  suitable  areas  of  meadow 
and  pasture,  sustained  the  dairy,  and  the  cows  converted  much  of 
the  grain,  and  all  of  the  forage,  into  manure.  Thus  was.  com- 
bined, to  mutual  advantnge,  these  two  important  branches  of  New 
York  farming.  Wheat  and  cheese  to  sell,  and  constant  improve- 
ment in  crops. 


MANAGEMENT    OF   MANURES    ON    GRAIX-FAEMS.        119 

"  In  our  own  case,  sheep  have  been  combined  with  grain- raising. 
So  we  have  sold  wool,  wheat,  and  barley,  and,  in  all  my  life,  not 
five  tons  of  hay.  Clover,  you  know,  has  been  our  great  forage- 
crop.  We  have  wintered  our  sheep  mostly  on  clover-hay,  having 
some  timothy  mixed  with  it,  that  was  necessarily  cut  (to  make  into 
hay  with  the  medium,  or  early  clover,)  when  it  was  but  grass.  "We 
have  fed  such  hay  to  our  cows  and  horses,  and  have  usually 
worked  into  manure  the  corn-stalks  of  about  20  acres  of  good 
corn,  each  winter,  and  we  have  worked  all  the  straw  into  shape  to 
apply  as  manure  that  we  could,  spreading  it 'thickly  on  pastures 
and  such  other  fields  as  were  convenient.  Some  straw  we  have 
sold,  mostly  to  paper-makers." 


"That,"  said  tlie  Deacon,  "is  good,  old-fashioned  farming. 
Plenty  of  straw  for  bedding,  and  good  clover  and  timothy-hay  for 
feed,  with  wool,  wheat,  and  barley  to  sell.  No  talk  about  oil- 
cake, malt-combs,  and  mangels;  nothing  about  superphosphate, 
guano,  or  swamp-muck." 

Mr.  Geddes  and  Mr.  Johnston  are  both  representative  fcrmers ; 
both  are  large  wheat-growers;  both  keep  their  land  clean  and 
thoroughly  cultivated ;  both  use  gypsum  freely ;  both  raise  large 
crops  of  clover  and  timothy ;  both  keep  sheep,  and  yet  they  rep- 
resent two  entirely  different  systems  of  farming.  One  is  the  great 
advocate  of  clover ;  the  other  is  the  great  advocate  of  manure. 

I  once  wrote  to  Mr.  Geddes,  asking  his  opinion  as  to  the  best 
time  to  plow  under  clover  for  wheat.  He  replied  as  follows: 

"  Plow  under  the  clover  when  it  is  at  full  growth.  But  your 
question  can  much  better  be  answered  at  the  end  of  a  long,  free 
talk,  which  can  best  be  had  here.  I  have  many  times  asked  you 
to  come  here,  not  to  see  fine  farming,  for  we  have  none  to  show, 
b.it  to  see  land  that  has  been  used  to  test  the  effects  of  clover  for 
nearly  70  years.  On  the  ground,  I  could  talk  to  a  willing  auditor 
long,  if  not  wisely.  I  am  getting  tired  of  being  misunderstood, 
and  of  having  my  statements  doubted  when  I  talk  about  clover 
as  the  great  renovator  of  land.  You  preach  agricultural  truth, 
and  the  facts  you  would  gather  in  this  neighborhood  are  worth 
your  knowing,  and  worth  giving  to  the  world.  So  come  here  and 
gather  soniG  facts  about  clover.  All  that  I  shall  try  to  prove  to 
you  is,  that  the  fact  that  clover  and  plaster  are  by  far  the  cheapest 
manures  that  can  be  had  for  our  lands,  has  been  demonstrated  by 
many  farmers  beyond  a  doubt — so  much  cheaper  than  barn  yard 
manure  that  the  mere  loading  of  and  spreading  costs  more  than 


120  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

the  plaster  and  clover.     Do  not  quote  me  as  saying  this,  but  corne 
and  see  the  farms  hereabouts,  and  talk  with  our  farmers." 


Of  course  I  went,  and  had  a  capital  time.  Mr.  G-cddes  has  a 
magnificent  farm  of  about  400  acres,  some  four  miles  from 
Syracuse.  It  is  in  high  condition,  and  is  continually  improving, 
and  this  is  due  to  growing  large  and  frequent  crops  of  clover,  and 
to  good ,  deep  plowing,  and  clean  and  thorough  culture. 

We  drove  round -among  the  farmers.  "Here  is  a  man,"  said 
Mr.  G.,  "  who  run  in  debt  $45  per  acre  for  his  farm.  He  has  edu- 
cated his  family,  paid  off  his  debt,  and  reports  his  net  profits  at 
frdm  $3,000  to  $2,500  a  year  on  a  farm  of  90  acres ;  and  this  is 
due  to  clover.  You  see  he  is  building  a  new  barn,  and  that  does 
not  look  as  though  his  land  was  running  down  under  the  system." 
The  next  farmer  we  came  to  was  also  putting  up  a  new  barn,  and 
another  farmer  was  enlarging  an  old  one.  "  Now,  these  farmers 
have  never  paid  a  dollar  for  manure  of  any  kind  except  plaster, 
and  their  lands  certainly  do  not  deteriorate." 


From  Syracuse,  I  went  to  Geneva,  to  see  our  old  friend  John 
Johnston.  "  Why  did  you  not  tell  me  you  were  coming  ?  "  he 
said.  "  I  would  have  met  you  at  the  cars.  But  I  am  right  gla  1 
to  see  you.  I  want  to  show  you  my  wheat,  where  I  put  on  250 
Ibs.  of  guano  per  acre  last  fall.  People  here  don't  know  that  I 
used  it,  a;id  you  must  not  mention  it.  It  is  grand." 

I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  saw  a  finer  piece  of  wheat.  It  was  the 
Diehl  variety,  sown  14th  September,  at  the  rate  of  1£  bushels  per 
acre.  It  was  quite  thick  enough.  One  breadth  of  the  drill  was 
sown  at  the  rate  of  two  bushels  per  acre.  This  is  earlier.  "But," 
said  Mr.  J. ,  "  the  other  will  have  larger  heads,  and  will  yield 
more."  After  examining  the  wheat,  we  went  to  look  at  the  piles 
of  muck  and  manure  in  the  barn-yard,  and  from  these  to  a  splen- 
did crop  of  timothy.  "It  will  go  2|  tons  of  hay  per  acre,"  said 
Mr.  J.,  "  and  now  look  at  this  adjoining  field.  It  is  just  as  good 
land  naturally,  and  there  is  merely  a  fence  between,  and  yet  the 
grass  and  clover  are  so  poor  as  hardly  to  be  worth  cutting." 

"  What  makes  the  difference  ?  "  I  asked. 

Mr.  Johnston,  emphatically,  "  Manure." 

The  poor  fieM  did  not  belong  to  him! 

Mr.  Johnston's  farm  was  originally  a  cold,  wet,  clayey  soil.  Mr. 
Geddes'  land  di  1  not  need  draining,  or  very  little.  Of  course,  land 
that  needs  draining,  is  richer  after  it  is  drained,  than  land  that  is 


MANAGEMENT   OF    MANURES    OI7   GRAIN-FARMS.        121 

naturally  drained.  And  though  Mr.  Johnston  w.is  always  a  good 
farmer,  yet  he  says  he  "  never  made  money  until  he  commenced  to 
drain."  The  accumulated  fertility  in  the  land  could  then  be  made 
available  by  good  tillage,  and  from  that  day  to  this,  his  land  has 
been  growing  richer  and  richer.  And,  in  fact,  the  same  is  true  of 
Mr.  Geddes'  farm.  It  is  richer  land  to-day  than  when  first  plowed, 
while  there  is  one  field  that  for  seventy  years  has  had  no  manure 
applied  to  it,  except  plaster.  How  is  this  to  be  explained  ?  Mr. 
Geddes  would  say  it  was  due  to  clover  and  plaster.  But  this  docs 
not  fully  satisfy  those  who  claim,  (and  truly),  that  "  always  taking 
out  of  the  meal-tub  and  never  putting  in,  soon  comes  to  the  bot- 
tom." The  clover  can  add  nothing  to  the  land,  that  it  did  not  get 
from  the  soil,  except  organic  matter  obtained  from  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  plaster  furnishes  little  or  nothing  except  Hmo  and  sulphu- 
ric acid.  There  are  all  the  other  ingredients  of  plant-food  to  be 
accounted  for — phosphoric  acid,  potash,  socla,  magnesia,  etc.  A 
crop  of  clover,  or  corn,  or  wheat,  or  barley,  or  oats,  will  not  come 
to  perfection  unless  every  one  of  these  elements  is  present  in  the 
soil  in  an  available  condition.  Mr.  Geddes  has  not  furnished  a 
single  ounce  of  any  one  of  them. 

"  Where  do  they  come  from  ?  " 

I  answer,  from  the  soil  itself.  There  is  probably  enough  of  these 
elements  in  the  soil  to  last  ten  thousand  years ;  and  if  we  return  to 
the  soil  all  the  straw,  chaff,  and  bran,  and  sell  nothing  but  fine  flour, 
meat,  butter,  etc.,  there  is  probably  enough  to  last  a  million  years, 
and  you  and  I  need  not  trouble  ourselves  with  speculations  as  to 
what  will  happen  after  that  time.  Nearly  all  our  soils  are  practi- 
cally inexhaustible.  But  of  course  these  elements  are  not  in  an 
available  condition.  If  they  were,  the  rains  would  wash  them  all 
into  the  ocean.  They  are  rendered  available  by  a  kind  of  fermen- 
tation. A  manure-heap  packed  as  hard  and  solid  as  a  rock  would 
not  decay ;  but  break  it  up,  make  it  fine,  turn  it  occasionally  so  as 
to  expose  it  to  the  atmosphere,  and  with  the  proper  degree  of  mois- 
ture and  heat  it  will  ferment  rapidly,  and  all  its  elements  will 
soon  become  available  food  for  plants.  Nothing  has  been  created 
by  the  process.  It  was  all  there.  We  have  simply  made  it  availa- 
ble. So  it  is  with  the  soil.  Break  it  up,  make  it  fine,  turn  it 
occasionally,  expose  it  to  the  atmosphere,  and  the  elements  it  con- 
tains become  available. 

I  do  not  think  that  Mr.  Geddes'  land  is  any  better,  naturally, 
than  yours  or  mine.  We  can  all  raise  fair  crops  by  cultivating 
the  land  thoroughly,  and  by  never  allowing  a  weed  to  grow.  On 
Mr.  Lawes'  experimental  wheat-field,  the  plot  that  has  never  re- 
6 


122  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

ceivcd  a  particle  of  manure,  produces  every  year  an  average  of 
about  15  bushels  per  acre.  And  the  whole  crop  is  removed — grain, 
straw,  and  chaff.  Nothing  is  returned.  And  that  the  land  is  not 
remarkably  rich,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  farms  in 
the  neighborhood,  produce,  under  the  ordinary  system  of  manage- 
ment, but  little  more  wheat,  once  in  four  or  five  years  than  is 
raised  every  year  on  this  experimental  plot  without  any  manure. 

Why?  Because  these  farmers  do  not  half  work  their  land,  and 
the  manure  they  make  is  little  better  than  rotten  straw.  Mr.  Lawes' 
wheat-field  is  plowed  twice  every  year,  and  when  I  was  there,  the 
crop  was  hand-hoed  two  or  three  times  in  the  spring.  Not  a  weed 
is  suffered  to  grow.  And  this  is  all  there  is  to  it. 

Now,  of  course,  instead  of  raising  15  bushels  of  wheat  every  year, 
it  is  a  good  deal  better  to  raise  a  crop  of  30  bushels  every  other 
year,  and  still  better  to  raise  45  bushels  every  third  year.  And  it 
is  here  that  clover  comes  to  our  aid.  It  will  enable  us  to  do  this 
very  thing,  and  the  land  runs  no  greater  risk  of  exhaustion  than 
Mr.  Lawcs'  unrnanured  wheat  crop. 

Mr.  Geddes  and  I  do  not  differ  as  much  as  you  suppose.  In  fact, 
I  do  not  believe  that  we  differ  at  all.  He  has  for  years  been  an 
earnest  advocate  for  growing  clover  as  a  renovating  crop.  He 
thinks  it  by  far  the  cheapest  manure  that  can  be  obtained  in  this 
section.  I  agree  with  him  most  fully  in  all  these  particulars.  He 
formed  his  opinion  from  experience  and  observation.  I  derived 
mine  from  the  Rothamstecl  experiments.  And  the  more  I  see  of 
practical  farming,  the  more  am  I  satisfied  of  their  truth.  Clover 
is,  unquestionably,  the  great  renovating  crop  of  American  agricul- 
ture. A  crop  of  clover,  equal  to  two  tons  of  hay,  when  plowed 
under,  will  furnish  more  ammonia  to  the  soil  than  twenty  tons  of 
straw-made  manure,  drawn  out  fresh  and  wet  in  the  spring,  or 
than  twelve  tons  of  our  ordinary  barn-yard  manure.  No  wonder 
Mr.  Geddes  and  other  intelligent  farmers  recommend  plowing 
under  clover  as  manure.  I  differ  from  them  in  no  respect  except 
this :  that  it  is  not  absolutely  essential  to  plow  clover  under  in  the 
green  state  in  order  to  get  its  fertilizing  effect ;  but,  if  made  into 
hay,  and  this  hay  is  fed  to  animals,  and  all  the  manure  carefully 
saved,  and  returned  to  the  land,  there  need  be  comparatively  little 
loss.  The  animals  will  seldom  take  out  more  than  from  five  to 
ten  per  cent  of  all  the  nitrogen  furnished  in  the  food — and  less  still 
of  mineral  matter.  I  advocate  growing  all  the  clover  you  possibly 
can — so  does  Mr.  Geddes.  He  says,  plow  it  under  for  manure.  So 
gay  I — unless  you  can  make  more  from  feeding  out  the 


MANAGEMENT    OF    MANURES    ON    GRAIN-FARMS.        123 

than  will  pay  you  for  waiting  a  year,  and  for  cutting  and  curing 
the  clover  and  drawing  back  the  manure.  If  you  plow  it 
under,  you  are  sure  of  it.  There  is  no  loss.  In  feeding  it  out, 
you  may  lose  more  or  less  from  leaching,  and  injurious  fermenta- 
tion. But,  of  course,  you  need  not  lose  anything,  except  the  little 
that  is  retained  in  the  flesh,  or  wool,  or  milk,  of  the  animals.  As 
tiling  are  on  many  farms,  it  is  perhaps  best  to  plow  under  the 
closer  for  manure  at  once.  As  things  ought  to  be,  it  is  a  most 
wasteful  practice.  If  you  know  how  to  feed  out  the  hay  to  advan- 
tage, and  take  pains  to  save  the  manure  (and  to  add  to  its  value  by 
feeding  oil-cake,  bran,  etc.,  with  it),  it  is  far  better  to  mow  your 
clover,  once  for  hay,  and  once  for  seed,  than  to  plow  it  under. 
Buy  oil-cake  and  bran  with  the  money  got  from  the  seed,  and 
growing  clover-seed  will  not  injure  the  land. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  Mr.  Geddes  occasionally  sells  straw.  I 
once  sold  15  tons  of  straw  to  the  paper-makers  for  $150,  they 
drawing  it  themselves,  and  some  of  my  neighbors  criticised  me 
severely  for  doing  so.  It  is  not  considered  an  orthodox  practice. 
I  do  not  advocate  selling  straw  as  a  rule ;  but,  if  you  have  more 
than  you  can  use  to  advantage,  and  it  is  bringing  a  good  price, 
sell  part  of  the  straw  and  buy  bran,  oil-cake,  etc.,  with  the  money. 
To  feed  nothing  but  straw  to  stock  is  poor  economy ;  and  to  rot 
it  down  for  manure  is  no  better.  Straw  itself  is  not  worth  $3.00 
a  ton  for  manure ;  and  as  one  ton  of  straw,  spread  in  an  open 
yard  to  rot,  will  make,  in  spring,  about  four  tons  of  so-called 
manure,  and  if  it  costs  50  cents  a  ton  to  draw  out  and  spread  it, 
the  straw,  even  at  this  comparatively  high  estimate  of  its  value, 
nets  you,  when  fed  out  alone,  or  rotted  down,  only  $1.00  a  ton. 

I  had  about  30  tons  of  straw.  Fed  out  alone  or  rotted  down  it 
would  make  120  tons  of  mr.nure.  After  deducting  the  expense  of 
hauling,  and  spreading,  it  nets  me  on  the  land,  $30.  Now  sell 
half  the  straw  for  $150,  and  buy  three  tons  of  oil-cake  to  feed 
out  with  the  other  half,  and  you  would  have  about  seventy  tons  of 
manure.  The  manure  from  the  fifteen  tons  of  straw  is  worth,  say 
$45,  and  from  the  three  tons  of  oil-cake,  $60,  or  $105.  It  will 
cost  $35  to  draw  and  spread  it,  and  will  thus  net  on  the  land,  $70. 
So  far  as  the  manure  question  is  concerned,  therefore,  it  is  far 
better  to  sell  half  your  straw,  and  buy  oil-cake  with  the  money, 
than  to  feed  it  out  alone — and  I  think  it  is  also  far  better  for  the 
stock.  Of  course,  it  would  be  better  for  the  farm,  not  to  sell  any 
of  the  straw,  and  to  buy  six  tons  of  oil-cake  to  feed  out  with  it; 


124  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

but  those  of  us  who  are  short  of  capital,  must  be  content  to  bring 
up  our  land  by  slow  degrees. 

"  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand,"  wrote  Mr.  Gecldes,  "  what  you 
mean,  when  you  say  that  a  ton  of  straw  will  make,  in  the  spring 
of  the  year,  four  tons  of  so-called  manure.  If  you  had  said  that 
four  tons  of  straw  would  make  one  ton  of  manure,  I  should  have 
thought  nothing  of  it.  But  how  you  can  turn  one  ton  of  straw 
into  four  tons  of  anything  that  anybody  will  call  manure,  I  tlo 
not  see.  In  a  conversation  I  had  with  Hon.  Lewis  F.  Allen,  of 
Black  Rock,  more  than  a  year  ago,  he  told  me  that  he  had  enquired 
of  the  man  who  furnished  hay  for  feeding  cattle  at  the  Central 
Yards,  in  Buffalo,  as  to  the  loads  of  manure  he  sold,  and  though  I 
can  not  now  say  the  exact  quantity  to  a  ton  of  ha}r,  I  remember 
that  it  was  very  little — far  less  than  I  had  before  supposed.  Please 
explain  this  straw-manure  matter." 

Boussingault,  the  great  French  chemist-farmer,  repeatedly  ana- 
lyzed the  manure  from  his  barn-yard.  "  The  animals  which  had 
produced  this  dung,  were  80  horses,  30  oxen,  and  from  10  to  20 
pigs.  The  absolute  quantity  of  moisture  was  ascertained,  by  first 
drying  in  the  air  a  considerable  weight  of  dung,  and  after  pound- 
ing, continuing  and  completing,  the  drying  of  a  given  quantity." 
No  one  can  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  results.  The  dung  made 
in  the 

Winter  of  1837-8,  contained  79.6  per  cent  of  water. 

"         "  1838-9,         "          77.8    "      "      "       " 
Autumn "  1839,  "          80.4    "      «     "       « 

Fresh  solid  cow-dung  contains,  according  to  the  same  authority, 
90  per  cent  of  water. 

I  have  frequently  seen  manure  drawn  out  in  the  spring,  that 
had  not  been  decomposed  at  all,  and  with  more  or  less  snow 
among  it,  and  with  water  dripping  from  the  wagon,  while  it  was 
being  loaded.  It  was,  in  fact,  straw  saturated  with  water,  and  dis- 
colored by  the  droppings  of  animals.  Now,  how  much  of  such 
manure  would  a  ton  of  dry  straw  make  ?  If  we  should  take  20 
Ibs.  of  straw,  trample  it  down,  and  from  time  to  time  sprinkle  it 
with  water  and  snow,  until  we  had  got  on  80  Ibs.,  and  then  put 
on  20  Ibs.  more  straw,  and  80  Ibs.  more  water,  and  keep  on  until 
we  had  used  up  a  ton  of  straw,  how  much  "  so-called  manure," 
should  we  have  to  draw  out  ? 

20  Ibs.  of  straw,  and  80  Ibs.  water=109  Ibs.  so-called  manure. 
2,000  Ibs.  of  straw,  and  8,000  Ibs.  water=10,000  Ibs.  so-called  manure. 

In  other  words,  we  get  five  tons  of  such  manure  from  one  ton  of 


MANAGEMENT    OP    MANURES    ON    GBAIN-FAEMS.        125 

straw.  This  is,  perhaps,  an  extreme  case,  but  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  that  a  ton  of  straw,  trampled  down  by  cattle,  and  sheep,  in 
an  open  barn-yard,  exposed  to  snow  and  rain,  would  weigh  four 
tons  when  drawn  out  wet  in  the  spring. 


Yes,  it  is  quite  an  argument  in  favor  of  manure  cellars.  I  have 
always  had  a  prejudice  against  them — probably,  because  the  first 
one  I  saw  was  badly  managed.  There  is,  however,  no  necessity, 
even  in  an  ordinary  open  barn-yard,  with  more  or  less  sheds  and 
stables,  of  having  so  much  water  in  the  manure  when  drawn  out. 
Tiie  real  point  of  my  remarks,  which  so  surprised  Mr.  Geddes, 
was  this :  We  have  to  draw  out  so  much  water  with  our  manure, 
under  any  circumstances,  that  we  should  try  to  have  it  as  rich  as 
possible.  It  is  certainly  true,  that,  if  the  manure  from  a  ton  of 
straw  is  worta  $3,  that  from  a  ton  of  clover-hay,  is  worth  $10. 
And  it  costs  no  more  to  draw  out  and  spread  the  one  than  the 
other.  I  have  never  yet  found  a  farmer  who  would  believe  that 
a  ton  of  clover-hay,  rotted  down  in  the  barn-yard,  would  make 
three  or  four  tons  of  manure ;  but  he  would  readily  assent  to  the 
proposition,  that  it  took  four  or  five  tons  of  green  clover  to  make  a 
ton  of  hay ;  and  that  if  these  four  or  five  tons  of  green-clover  were 
rotted  in  the  yard,  it  would  make  three  or  four  tons  of  manure. 
And  yet,  the  only  difference  between  the~green-clover  and  the  hay, 
is,  that  the  latter  has  lost  some  60  or  70  per  cent  of  water  in  cur- 
ing. Add  that  amount  of  water  to  the  hay,  and  it  will  make  as 
much  manure  as  the  green-clover  from  which  the  hay  was  made. 

GYPSUM   AND    CLOVER   AS    MANURE. 

A  good  farmer  came  in  while  we  were  talking.  "  Nothing  like 
plaster  and  clover,"  he  said,  "  for  keeping  up  a  wheat-farm."  And 
you  will  find  this  the  general  opinion  of  nearly  all  American 
wlieat-growers.  It  must  be  accepted  as  a  fact.  But  the  deduc- 
tions drawn  from  the  fact  are  as  various  as  they  are  numerous. 

Let  us  look  first  at  the  fact.  And,  if  you  like,  we  will  take  my 
own  farm  as  an  example.  About  60  years  ago,  it  was  covered  with 
the  primeval  forest.  The  trees,  on  the  higher  and  drier  land,  were 
first  cut  down,  and  many  of  them  burnt  on  the  land.  Wheat  was 
sown  among  the  stumps.  The  crop  varied  in  different  years,  from 
10  to  30  bushels  per  acre.  When  30  bushels  were  grown,  the  fact 
was  remembered.  When  10  bushels  only  were  grown,  little  was  said 
about  it  in  after  years,  until  now  there  is  a  general  impression 
that  our  wheat  crops  were  formerly  much  larger  per  acre  than 
now.  I  doubt  it ;  but  we  will  not  discuss  the  point.  One  thing  is 


126  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

certain,  the  land  would  produce  good  crops  of  clover;  and  when 
this  clover  was  plowed  under  for  manure,  we  got  better  crops  of 
wheat  afterwards.  This  was  the  rule.  Later,  we  commenced  to 
use  gypsum  as  a  top-dressing  on  clover.  The  effect  was  often 
wonderful.  Farmers  will  tell  you  that  they  sowed  200  Ibs.  of 
plaster  per  acre,  on  their  young  clover,  in  the  spring,  and  it 
doubled  the  crap,  This  statement  expresses  an  agricultural,  and  not 
an  arithmetical  fact.  We  do  not  know  that  the  crop  on  the  plas- 
tered portion  was  twice  as  heavy  as  on  the  unplastered.  We  know 
that  it  was  larger,  and  more  luxuriant.  There  was  a  greater,  and 
more  vigorous  growth.  And  this  extra  growth  was  cause ;1  by  the 
small  top-dressing  of  powdered  gypsum  rock.  It  was  a  great  fact 
in  agriculture.  I  will  call  it  fact,  No.  1. 

Then,  when  the  clover  was  turned  under,  we  usually  got  good 
wheat.  This  is  fact,  No.  2.  On  these  two  facts,  hang  many  of 
our  agricultural  theories.  "We  may  state  these  facts  in  many  ways. 
Still,  it  all  comes  to  this :  Clover  is  good  for  wheat ;  plaster  is  good 
for  clover. 

There  is  another  fact,  which  is  a  matter  of  general  observation 
and  remark.  You  rarely  fin:l  a  good  farmer  who  does  not  pay 
special  attention  to  his  clover-crop.  When  I  was  riding  with  Mr. 
Geddes,  among  the  farmers  of  Onondaga  County,  on  passing  a 
farm  where  everything  looked  thrifty — good  fences,  good  build- 
ings, good  garden,  good  stock,  and  the  land  clean  and  in  good  con- 
dition— I  would  ask  who  lived  there,  or  some  other  question.  ISTo 
matter  what.  The  answer  was  always  tho  same.  "  Oh  !  he  is 
another  of  our  clover  men."  We  will  call  this  fact,  No.  3. 

And  when,  a  year  afterwards,  Mr.  Geddes  returned  my  visit, 
and  I  drove  him  around  among  the  farmers  of  Monroe  County,  he 
found  precisely  the  same  state  of  facts.  All  our  good  farmers 
were  clover  men.  Among  the  good  wheat-growers  in  Michigan, 
you  will  find  the  same  state  of  things. 

These  are  the  facts.    Let  us  not  quarrel  over  them, 


CHEAPEST   MANURE    FOR    FARMERS.  127 

CHAPTER     XXIV. 
THE    CHEAPEST    MANURE    A   FARMER    CAN    USE. 

I  do  not  know  who  first  said,  "  The  cheapest  manure  a  farmer 
can  use  is — clover-seed,"  but  the  saying  has  become  part  of  our 
agricultural  literature,  and  deserves  a  passing  remark. 

I  have  heard  good  farmers  in  Western  New  York  say,  that  if 
they  had  a  field  sown  with  wheat  that  they  were  going  to  plow 
the  spring  after  the  crop  was  harvested,  they  would  sow  10  Ibs.  cf 
clover-seed  on  the  wheat  in  the  spring.  They  thought  that  the 
growth  of  the  clover  in  the  fall,  after  the  wheat  was  cut,  and  the 
growth  the  next  spring,  before  the  land  was  plowed,  would  afford 
manure  worth  much  more  than  the  cost  of  the  clover-seed. 

"  I  do  not  doubt  it,"  said  the  Deacon ;  "  but  would  it  not  be 
better  to  let  the  crop  grow  a  few  months  longer,  ai:d  then  plow 
it  under  ?" 

"  But  that  is  not  the  point,"  I  remarked ;  "  we  sometimes  adopt 
a  rotation  when  Indian-corn  follows  a  crop  of  wheat.  In  such  a 
case,  good  farmers  sometimes  plow  the  land  in  the  fall,  and  again 
the  next  spring,  and  then  plant  corn.  This  is  one  method.  But  I 
have  known,  as  I  said  before,  good  farmers  to  seed  down  the 
wheat  with  clover ;  and  the  following  spring,  say  the  third  week 
in  May,  plow  under  the  young  clover,  and  plant  immediately  on 
the  furrow.  If  the  land  is  warm,  and  in  good  condition,  you  will 
frequently  get  clover,  by  this  time,  a  foot  high,  and  will  have  two 
or  three  tons  of  succulent  vegetation  to  turn  under ;  and 
the  farmer  who  first  recommended  the  practice  to  me,  said 
that  the  cut-worms  were  so  fond  of  this  green-clover  that 
they  did  not  molest  the  young  corn-plants.  I  once  tried  the  plan 
myself,  and  found  it  to  work  well ;  but  since  then,  I  have  kept  so 
many  pigs  and  sheep,  that  clover  has  been  too  useful  to  plow  un- 
der. But  we  will  not  discuss  this  point  at  present. 

"  What  I  wanted  to  say  -is  this:  Here  we  have  a  field  in  wheat. 
Half  of  it  (A)  we  seed  down  with  12  Ibs.  of  clover-seed  per  acre ; 
the  other  half  (B)  not.  The  clover-seed  and  sowing  on  A,  cost,  say, 
$2  per  acre.  We  plow  B  in  the  fall ;  this  will  cost  us  about  as 
much  as  the  clover-seed  sown  on  A.  In  the  spring,  A  and  B  are 
both  plowed  and  planted  to  corn.  Now,  which  half  of  the  field 
will  be  in  the  cleanest  and  best  condition,  and  which  will  produce 
the  best  corn,  and  the  best  barley,  or  oats,  afterwards?" 


123  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  I  vote  for  A,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"  I  vote  for  A,"  said  the  Doctor. 

"  I  vote  for  A,"  said  the  Squire. 

"  I  should  think,"  modestly  suggested  Charley,  "  that  it  would 
depend  somewhat  on  the  soil,"  and  Charley  is  right.  On  a  clean, 
moderately  rich  piece  of  light,  sandy  soil,  I  should  certainly  ex- 
pect much  better  corn,  and  better  barley  or  oats,  on  A,  where  the 
clover  was  grown,  than  on  B.  But  if  the  field  was  a  strong  loam, 
that  needed  thorough  cultivation  to  get  it  mellow  enough  for  corn, 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  B  would  come  out  ahead.  At  any 
rate,  I  am  sure  that  on  my  own  farm,  moderately  stiff  land,  if  I 
was  going  to  plant  corn  after  wheat,  I  should  not  seed  it  down 
with  clover.  I  would  plow  the  wheat  stubble  immediately  after 
harvest,  and  harrow  and  cultivate  it  to  kill  the  weeds,  and  then, 
six  weeks  or  two  months  later,  I  would  plow  it  again.  I  would 
draw  out  manure  in  the  winter,  pile  it  up  in  the  field  to  ferment, 
and  the  next  spring  spread  it,  and  plow  it  under,  and  then — 

"And  then  what  ?"  asked  the  Deacon. — "  Why  the  truth  is," 
said  I,  "  then  I  would  not  plant  corn  at  all.  I  should  either  sow 
the  field  to  barley,  or  drill  in  mangel-wurzel  or  SwTcdc-turnips. 
But  if  I  d'd  plant  corn,  I  should  expect  better  corn  than  if  I  had 
sown  clover  with  the  wheat;  and  the  land,  if  the  corn  was  well 
cultivated,  would  be  remarkably  clean,  and  in  fine  condition ;  and 
the  next  time  the  land  was  seeded  clown  with  clover,  we  could 
reasonably  expect  a  great  crop." 

The  truth  is,  that  clover-seed  is  sometimes  a  very  cheap  manure, 
and  farmers  are  in  no  danger  of  sowing  too  much  of  it.  I  do  not 
mean  sowing  too  much  seed  per  acre,  but  they  are  in  no  danger  of 
sowing  too  many  acres  with  clover.  On  this  point,  there  is  no 
difference  of  opinion.  It  is  only  when  we  come  to  explain  the 
action  of  clover — when  we  draw  deductions  from  the  facts  of  the 
the  case — that  we  enter  a  field  bristling  all  over  with  controversy. 


u  You  have  just  finished  threshing,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  and  for 
my  part,  I  would  rather  hear  how  your  wheat  turned  out,  than  to 
listen  to  any  of  your  chemical  talk  about  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid,  and  potash." 

"  The  wheat,"  said  I,  "  turned  out  full  as  well  as  I  expected. 
Fourteen  acres  of  it  was  after  wheat,  and  eight  acres  of  it  after 
oats.  Both  these  fields  were  seeded  down  with  clover  lest  year, 
but  the  clover  failed,  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  risk 
them  again  with  wheat.  The  remainder  was  after  barley.  In  all, 


CHEAPEST  MANURE  FOR  FARMERS.         129 

there  was  not  quite  40  acres,  and  we  had  954  bushels  of  Diehl 
wheat.  This  is  not  bad  in  the  circumstances ;  but  I  shall  not 
be  content  until  I  can  average,  taking  one  year  with  another,  85 
to  40  bushels  per  acre.  If  the  land  had  been  rich  enough,  there 
would  unquestionably  have  been  40  bushels  per  acre  this  year. 
That  is  to  say,  the  season  was  quite  capable  of  producing  this 
amount ;  and  I  think  the  mechancial  condition  of  the  land  was 
also  equal  to  it;  all  that  was  needed  was  sufficient  available  plant- 
food  in  the  soil." 

"  I  can  see  no  reason,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  why  you  may  not  av- 
erage 40  bushels  of  wheat  par  acre  in  a  good  season." 

"  The  field  of  14  acres,"  said  I,  "  where  wheat  followed  wheat, 
yielded  23  bushels  per  acre.  Last  year  it  yielded  22  bushels  per 
acre ;  and  so  we  got  in  the  two  years  45  bushels  per  acre." 

This  fieLl  has  had  no  manure  of  any  kind  for  years.  In  fact, 
since  tin  lund  was  cleared,  40  or  50  years  ago,  I  presume  that  all 
the  manure  that  has  been  applied  would  not,  in  the  aggregate, 
be  equal  to  more  than  a  good  crop  of  clover-hay.  The  available 
plant-food  required  to  produce  these  two  crops  of  wheat  came 
from  tho  soil  itself,  and  from  the  rain,  dews,  and  atmosphere.  The 
land  is  now  seeded  down  with  clover,  and  with  the  aid  of  a  bushel 
or  two  of  plaster  per  acre,  next  spring,  it  is  not  improbable  that, 
if  mown  twice  for  hay  next  year,  it  will  yield  in  the  two  crops 
three  tons  of  hay  per  acre. 

Now,  three  tons  of  clover-hay  contain  about  33  Ibs.  of  phos- 
phoric acid,  90  Ibs.  of  potash,  and  150  Ibs.  of  nitrogen. 

The  last  crop  of  wheat,  of  22  bushels  per -acre,  and  say  1,500 
Ibs.  of  straw,  would  contain : 

In  the  grain.  In  the  straw.  In  total  crop. 

Phosphoric  acid 1H  ibs.  3*  Ibs.  15*  Ibs. 

Potash U  "  81   "  '     16*   " 

Nitrogen 23  "  9t  "  32i  " 

It  seems  very  unkind  in  the  wheat-plants  not  to  give  me  more 
than  22  bushels  per  acre,  when  the  clover-plants  coming  after  will 
find  phosphoric  acid  enough  for  40  bushels  of  wheat,  and  potash 
and  nitrogen  enough  for  nearly  100  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre. 
And  these  are  the  three  important  constituents  of  plant-food. 

Why,  then,  did  I  get  only  22  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre?  I  got 
23  bushels  on  the  same  land  the  year  previous,  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  if  I  had  sown  the  same  land  to  wheat  again  this 
fall,  I  should  get  12  or  15  bushels  per  acre  again  next  year.  But 
the  clover  will  find  plant-food  enough  for  40  bushels  of  wheat. 

"  There  is  not  much  doubt,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  you  will 


ISO  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

get  a  good  crop  of  clover,  if  you  will  keep  the  sheep  off  of  the  land 
this  fall.  But  I  do  not  see  what  you  mean  by  the  clover-plants 
finding  food  enough  for  40  bushels  of  wheat,  while  in  point  of 
fact,  if  you  had  sown  the  field  again  to  wheat  this  fall,  you  would 
not,  as  you  say,  probably  get  more  than  12  or  15  bushels  of  wheat. 

"  Hs  means  t.iis,"  saLl  the  Doctor.     "  If  he  had  sown  the  land 
to  wheat  i.his  fall,  without  manure,  he  would  probably  not  ge 
over  15  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  yet  you  both  agree  that  the 
land  will,  in  all  probability,  produce  next  year,  if  mown  twice, 
three  tons  of  clover-hay  per  acre,  without  any  manure. 

"  Now,  if  we  admit  that  the  clover  gets  ho  more  nitrogen  from 
the  rain  and  dews,  and  from  the  atmosphere,  than  the  wheat  will 
get,  then  it  follows  that  this  soil,  which  will  only  produce  15  bush- 
els of  wheat  per  acre,  does,  in  point  of  fact,  contain  plant-food 
enough  for  40  bushels  of  wheat,  and  the  usual  proportion  of  straw. 

"  The  two  crops  take  up  from  the  soil  as  follows : 

Phosphoric  acid.      Potash.          Nitrogen. 

15  bushels  wheat  and  straw 10J  Ibs.  Hi  Ibs.  22  Ibs. 

3  tons  clover-hay 33  "  90     "  1EO  " 

"  These  facts  and  figures,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  are  worth 
looking  at  and  thinking  about.  Why  can  not  the  wheat  get  as 
much  phosphoric  acid  out  of  the  soil  as  the  clover?" 

"Because,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  roots  of  the  clover  go  down 
deeper  into  the  subsoil  than  the  roots  of  wheat." 

"  That  is  a  very  good  reason,  so  far  as  it  goes,"  said  I,  "  but 
does  not  include  all  the  facts.  I  have  no  sort  of  doubt,  that  if  I 
had  sown  this  land  to  wheat,  and  put  on  75  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per 
acre,  I  should  have  got  a  wheat-crop  containing,  in  grain  and 
straw,  30  Ibs.  of  phosphoric  acid.  And  so  the  reason  I  got  15 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  instead  of  40  bushels,  is  not  because 
the  roots  of  wheat  do  not  go  deep  enough  to  find  sufficient  soluble 
phosphoric  acid." 

"  Possibly,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  nitrogen  you  apply  may  ren- 
der the  phosphoric  acid  in  the  soil  more  soluble." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  I ;  "  and  this  was  the  answer  Liebig  gave  to 
Mr.  Lawes.  Of  which  more  at  some  future  time.  But  this  an- 
swer, like  the  Deacon's,  does  not  cover  all  the  facts  of  the  case ; 
for  a  supply  of  soluble  phosphoric  acid  would  not,  in  all  proba- 
bility, give  me  a  large  crop  of  wheat.  I  will  give  you  some  facts 
presently  bearing  on  this  point. 

"  What  we  want  to  find  out  is,  why  the  clorer  can  get  so  much 
more  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and  nitrogen,  than  the  wheat,  from 
the  same  soil  ?" 


CHEAPEST  MANURE  FOR  FARMERS.         131 

MORE  ABOUT  CLOVER. 

The  Deacon  seemed  to  think  the  Doctor  was  going  to  give  a 
scientific  answer  to  the  question.  "  If  the  clover  can  get  more  ni- 
trogen, phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  from  the  same  soil  than 
wheat,"  said  he,  "  why  not  accept  the  fact,  and  act  accordingly  ? 
You  scientific  gentlemen  want  to  explain  everything,  and  some- 
times make  confusion  worse  confounded.  We  know  that  a  sheep 
will  grow  fat  in  a  pasture  where  a  cow  would  starve." 

"  True,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and  that  is  because  the  cow  gathers 
food  with  her  tongue,  and  must  have  the  grass  long  enough  for 
her  to  get  hold  of  it ;  while  a  sheep  picks  up  the  grass  with  her 
teeth  and  gums,  and,  consequently,  the  sheep  can  eat  the  grass 
down  into  the  very  ground." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  and  how  do  you  know  but  that 
the  roots  of  the  clover  gather  up  their  food  sheep-fashion,  while 
the  wheat-roots  eat  like  a  cow  ?  " 

"  That  is  not  a  very  scientific  way  of  putting  it,"  said  the  Doc- 
tor ;  "  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  Deacon  has  the  right  idea. " 

"  Perhaps,  then,"  said  I,  "  we  had  better  let  it  go  at  that  until  we 
get  more  light  on  the  subject.  We  must  conclude  that  the  wheat 
can  not  get  food  enough  from  the  soil  to  yield  a  maximum  crop, 
not  because  there  is  not  food  enough  in  the  field,  but  the  roots  of 
tlie  wheat  are  so  constituted  that  they  can  not  gather  it  up ;  while 
clover-roots,  foraging  in  the  same  soil,  can  find  all  they  want." 

"  Clover,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  is  the  scavenger  of  the  farm ;  like 
a  pig,  it  gathers  up  what  would  otherwise  be  wasted." 

"  Of  course,  these  illustrations,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  do  not  give 
us  any  clear  idea  of  how  the  clover-plants  take  up  food.  We  must 
recollect  that  the  roots  of  plants  take  up  their  food  in  solution ; 
and  it  has  just  occurred  to  me  that,  possibly,  Mr.  Lawes'  experi- 
ments on  th3  amount  of  water  given  off  by  plants  during  their 
growth,  may  throw  some  light  on  the  subject  we  are  discussing." 

"Mr.  Lawcs  found,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  that  a  wheat-plant, 
from  March  19  to  June  28,  or  101  days,  evaporated  through  its 
leaves,  etc.,  45,713  grains  of  water;  while  a  clover-plant,  standing 
alongside,  and  in  precisely  similar  condition,  evaporated  55,093 
grains.  Tuc  clover  was  cut  June  28,  when  in  full  bloom.  The 
wheat-plant  was  allowed  to  grow  until  ripe,  Sept.  7.  From  June  28 
to  Sept.  7,  or  72  days,  the  wheat-plant  evaporated  67,814  grains." 

"  One  moment,"  said  the  Deacon ;  "  as  I  understand,  the  clover- 
plant  evaporated  more  water  than  the  wheat-plant,  until  the  28th 
of  June,  but  that  during  the  next  71  days,  the  wheat-plant  evap- 
orated more  water  than  it  had  during  the  previous  101  days." 


132  TALKS    OX   MANURES. 

**  Yes,"  said  I,  "  and  if  these  facts  prove  nothing  else,  they  at 
least  show  that  there  is  a  great  difference  between  wheat  and 
clover.  I  was  at  Rothamsted  when  these  experiments  were 
made.  During  the  first  nine  days  of  the  experiment,  the  clovtr- 
plant  evaporate:!  399.6  grains  of  water;  while  the  wheat-plant, 
standing  alongside,  evaporated  only  128.7  grains.  In  other  words, 
the  clover-plant  evaporated  three  times  as  much  water  as  the 
wheat-plant.  During  the  next  31  days,  the  wheat-plant  evap- 
orated 1,267.8  grains,  and  the  clover-plant  1,643.0  grains  ;  but  dur- 
ing the  next  27  days,  from  April  28  to  May  25,  the  wheat-plant 
evaporated  162.4  grains  of  water  per  day,  while  the  clover-plant 
only  evaporated  109.2  grains  per  day.  During  the  next  34  days, 
from  May  25  to  June  28,  the  wheat-plant  evaporated  1,177.4  grains 
per  day,  and  the  clover- plant  1,473.5  grains  per  day." 

"In  June,"  said  the  Deacon,  "the  clover  evaporates  ten  times 
as  much  water  per  day  as  it  did  in  May.  How  much  water  would 
an  acre  of  clover  evaporate  ?  " 

"  Let  Charley  figure  it  out,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  Suppose  each 
plant  occupies  10  square  inches  of  land;  there  are  6,272,640  squars 
inches  in  an  acre,  and,  consequently,  there  would  be  627,264 
clover-plants  on  an  acre.  Each  plant  evaporated  1,473.5  grains 
per  day,  and  there  are  7,000  grains  in  a  pound." 

Charley  made  the  calculation,  and  found  that  an  acre  of  clover, 
from  May  25  to  June  28,  evaporated  528,598  Ibs.  of  water,  or  15,- 
547  Ibs.  per  day. 

A  much  more  accurate  way  of  ascertaining  how  much  water  an 
acre  of  clover  evaporates  is  afforded  us  by  these  experiments. 
After  the  plants  were  cut,  they  were  weighed  and  analyzed  ;  and 
it  being  known  exactly  how  much  water  each  plant  had  given  off 
during  its  growth,  we  have  all  the  facts  necessary  to  tell  us  just 
how  much  a  crop  of  a  given  weight  would  evaporate.  In  brief,  it 
was  found  that  for  each  pound  of  dry  substance  in  the  wheat- 
plant,  247.4  Ibs.  of  water  had  been  evaporated;  and  for  each 
pound  in  the  clover-plant,  269.1  Ibs. 

An  acre  of  wheat  of  15  bushels  per  acre  of  grain,  and  an  equal 
weight  of  straw,  would  exhale  during  the  spring  and  summer 
177f  tons  of  water,  or  calculated  on  172  days,  the  duration  of  the 
experiment,  2,055  Ibs.  per  day. 

An  acre  of  clover  that  would  make  two  tons  of  hay,  would 
pass  off  through  ils  leaves,  in  101  days,  430  tons  of  water,  or  8,600 
Ibs.  per  day — more  than  four  times  as  much  as  the  wheat. 

These  figures  show  that,  from  an  agricultural  point  of  view, 
there  is  a  great  difference  between  wheat  and  clover  ;  and  yet  I 


CHEAPEST   MANURE    FOR    FARMERS.  133 

think  the  figures  do  not  show  the  whole  of  the  difference.  The 
clover  was  cut  just  at  the  time  when  the  wheat-plant  was 
entering  on  its  period  of  most  rapid  growth  and  exhalation,  and, 
consequently,  the  figures  given  above  probably  exaggerate  the 
amount  of  water  given  off  by  tne  wheat  during  the  early  part  of 
the  season.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  quite  clear,  and  this  is  all  I  want  to 
show,  that  an  acre  of  good  clover  exhales  a  much  larger  amount 
of  water  from  spring  to  hay -harvest  than  an  acre  of  wheat. 

"  And  what,"  said  the  Deacon,  who  was  evidently  getting  tired 
of  the  figures,  "  does  all  this  prove  ?  " 

The  figures  prove  that  clover  can  drink  a  much_greater  quantity 
of  water  during  March,  April,  May,  and  June,  than  wheat;  and, 
consequently,  to  get  the  same  amount  of  food,  it  is  not  necessary 
that  the  clover  should  have  as  much  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid, 
potash,  etc.,  in  the  water  as  the  wheat-plant  requires.  I  do  not 
know  that  I  make  myself  understood." 

"  You  want  to  show,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  the  wheat-plant 
requires  richer  food  than  clover." 

Yes,  I  want  to  show  that,  though  clover  requires  more  food  per 
day  than  wheat,  yet  the  clover  can  drink  such  a  large  amount  of 
water,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  the  "sap  of  the  soil"  so 
rich  in  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  for  clover,  as  it  is 
for  wheat.  I  think  this  tells  the  whole  story. 

Clover  is,  or  may  be,  the  grandest  renovating  and  enriching 
crop  commonly  grown  on  our  farms.  It  owes  its  great  value,  not 
to  any  power  it  may  or  may  not  possess  of  getting  nitrogen  from 
the  atmosphere,  or  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  from  the  subsoil, 
but  principally,  if  not  entirely,  to  the  fact  that  the  roots  can  drink 
up  such  a  large  amount  of  water,  and  live  and  thrive  on  very 
weak  food. 

HOW   TO   MAKE   A  FARM   RICH   BY    GROWING   CLOVER. 

Not  by  growing  the  clover,  and  selling  it.  Nothing  would  ex- 
haust the  land  so  rapidly  as  such  a  practice  We  must  either  plow 
under  the  clover,  let  it  rot  on  the  surface,  or  pasture  it,  or  use  it 
for  soiling,  or  make  it  into  hay,  feed  it  out  to  stock,  and  return  the 
manure  to  the  land.  If  clover  got  its  nitrogen  from  the  atmos- 
phere, we  might  sell  the  clover,  and  depend  on  the  roots  left  in  the 
ground,  to  enrich  the  soil  for  the  next  crop.  But  if,  as  I  have  en- 
deavored to  show,  clover  gets  its  nitrogen  from  a  weak  solution  in 
the  soil,  it  is  clear,  that  though  for  a  year  or  two  we  might  raiso 
good  crops  from  the  plant-food  left  in  the  clover-roots,  yet  we 


134  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

should  soon  find  that  growing  a  crop  of  clover,  and  leaving  only 
the  roots  in  the  soil,  is  no  way  to  permanently  enrich  land. 

I  do  not  say  that  such  a  practice  will  "  exhaust "  the  land.  For- 
tunately, while  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  impoverish  land,  we  should 
have  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  most  advanced  agricultural  science, 
before  we  could  "  exhaust  '*  land  of  its  plant-food.  The  free  use  of 
Nitrate  of  Soda,  or  Sulphate  of  Ammonia,  might  enable  us  to  do 
something  in  the  way  of  exhausting  our  farms,  but  if.  would  reduce 
our  balance  at  a  bank,  or  send  us  to  the  poor-house,  before  we  had 
fully  robbed  the  lind  of  its  plant-food. 

To  exhaust  land,  by  growing  and  selling  clover,  is  an  agricultural 
impossibility,  for  the  simple  reason  that,  long  before  the  soil  is 
exhausted,  the  clover  would  produce  such  a  poverty-stricken  crop, 
that  we  should  give  up  the  attempt. 

We  can  make  our  land  poor,  by  growing  clover,  and  selling  it ; 
or,  we  can  make  our  land  rich,  by  growing  clover,  and  feeding  it 
out  on  the  farm.  Or,  rather,  we  can  make  our  land  rich,  by  drain- 
ing it  where  needed,  cultivating  it  thoroughly,  so  as  to  dcvclope 
the  latent  plant -food  existing  in  the  soil,  and  then  by  growing 
clover  to  take  up  and  organize  this  plant-food.  This  is  how  to 
make  land  rich  by  growing  clover.  It  is  not,  in  one  sense,  the 
clover  that  makes  the  land  rich ;  it  is  the  draining  and  cultivation, 
that  furnishes  the  food  for  the  clover.  The  clover  takes  up  this 
food  and  concentrates  it.  The  clover  does  not  create  the  plant- 
food;  it  merely  saves  it.  It  is  the  thorough  cultivation  that 
enriches  the  land,  not  the  clover. 

"  I  wish,"  writes  a  distinguished  New  York  gentleman,  who  has 
a  farm  of  barren  sand,  "  you  would  tell  us  whether  it  is  best  to  let 
clover  ripen  and  rot  on  the  surface,  or  plow  it  under  when  in 
blossom  ?  I  have  heard  that  it  gave  more  nitrogen  to  the  land  to 
let  it  ripen  and  rot  on  it,  but  as  I  am  no  chemist,  I  do  not  know." 

If,  instead  of  plowing  under  the  clover — say  the  last  of  June,  it 
was  left  to  grow  a  month  longer,  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  clover- 
roots  and  seed  would  contahimor::  nitrogen  than  they  did  a  month 
earlier.  It  was  formerly  thought  that  there  was  a  loss  of  nitrogen 
during  the  ripening  process,  but  the  evi  'ence  is  not  altogether  con- 
clusive on  the  point.  Still,  if  I  had  a. piece  of  sandy  land  that  I 
wished  to  enrich  by  clover,  I  do  not  think  I  should  plow  it  under  in 
June,  on  the  one  hand,  or  let  it  grow  until  maturity,  and  rot  down, 
on  the  other.  I  should  rather  prefer  to  mow  the  crop  just  as  it 
commenced  to  blossom,  and  let  the  clover  lie,  spread  out  on  the 
land,  as  left  by  the  machine.  There  would,  I  think,  be  no  loss  of 
fertilizing  elements  by  evaporation,  while  the  clover-hay  would  act 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER.  135 

as  a  mulch,  and  the  second  growth  of  clover  would  be  encouraged 
by  it.  Mow  this  second  crop  again,  about  the  first  week  in  August. 
Then,  unless  it  was  desirable  to  continue  the  process  another  year, 
the  land  might  be  plowed  up  in  two  or  three  weeks,  turning  under 
the  two  previous  crops  of  clover  that  are  on  the  surface,  together 
with  the  green-clover  still  growing.  I  believe  this  would  be  better 
than  to  let  the  clover  exhaust  itself  by  running  to  seed. 


CHAPTER     XXV. 
DR.   VCELCKER'S    EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVER. 

In  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  for 
r"68,  Dr.  Voelcker,  the  able  chemist  of  the  Society,  and  formerly 
Professor  of  Agricultural  Chemistry,  at  the  Royal  Agricultural 
College  at  Cirencester,  England,  has  given  us  a  paper  "  On  the 
Causes  of  the  Benefits  of  Clover,  as  a  preparatory  Crop  for 
Wheat."  The  paper  has  been  repeatedly  and  extensively  quoted 
in  this  country,  but  has  not  been  as  critically  studied  as  the  impor- 
tance of  the  subject  demands. 

"Never  mind  all  that,"  said  the  Deacon,  "tell  us  what  Dr. 
Vcelcker  says."  ., 

"Here  is  the  paper,"  said  I, "  and  Charley  will  read  it  to  us." 
Charley  read  as  follows  : 

"  Agricultural  chemists  inform  us,  that  in  order  to  maintain  the 
productive  powers  of  the  land  unimpaired,  we  must  restore  to  it  the 
phosphoric  acid,  potash,  nitrogen,  and  other  substances,  which 
enter  into  the  composition  of  our  farm  crops ;  the  constant  removal 
of  organic  and  inorganic  soil  constituents,  by  the  crops  usually  sold 
off  the  farm,  leading,  as  is  well  known,  to  more  or  less  rapid  dete- 
rioration and  gradual  exhaustion  of  the  land.  Even  the  best 
wheat  soils  of  this  and  other  countries,  become  more  and  more  im- 
poverished, and  sustain  a  loss  of  wheat-yielding  power,  when  corn- 
crops  are  grown  in  too  rapid  succession  without  manure.  Hence, 
the  universal  practice  of  manuring,  and  that  also  of  consuming  oil- 
cake, corn,  and  similar  purchased  food  on  land  naturally  poor,  or 
partially  exhausted  by  previous  cropping. 

"  Whilst,  however,  it  holds  good  as  a  general  rule,  that  no  soil 
can  be  cropped  for  any  length  of  time,  without  gradually  becoming 


136  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

more  and  more  infertile,  if  no  manure  be  applied  to  it,  or  if  the 
fertilizing  elements  removed  by  the  crops  grown  thereon,  be  not  by 
some  means  or  other  restored,  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  fact,  that  after  a 
heavy  crop  of  clover  carried  off  as  hay,  the  land,  far  from  being  less 
fertile  than  before,  is  peculiarly  well  adapted,  even  without  the 
adJition  of  manure,  to  bear  a  good  crop  of  wheat  in  the  following 
year,  provided  the  season  be  favorable  to  its  growth.  This  fact,  in- 
deed, is  so  well  known,  that  many  farmers  justly  regard  the  growth 
of  clover  as  one  of  the  best  preparatory  operations  which  the  land 
can  undergo,  in  order  to  its  producing  an  abundant  crop  of  wheat 
in  the  following  year.  It  has  further  been  noticed,  that  clover 
mown  twice,  leaves  the  land  in  a  better  condition,  as  regards  its 
wheat-producing  capabilities,  than  when  mown  once  only  for  hay, 
and  the  second  crop  fed  off  on  the  land  by  sheep;  for,  notwith- 
standing that  in  the  latter  instance  the  fertilizing  elements  in  the 
clover-crop  are  in  part  restored  in  the  sheep  excrements,  yet,  con- 
trary to  expectation,  this  partial  restoration  of  the  elements  of 
fertility  to  the  land  has  not  the  effect  of  producing  more  or  better 
wheat  in  the  following  year,  than  is  reaped  on  land  from  off  which 
the  whole  clover-crop  has  been  carried,  and  to  which  no  manure 
whatever  has  been  applied. 

"  Again,  in  the  opinion  of  several  good,  practical  agriculturists, 
with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject,  land  whereon  clover 
has  been  grown  for  seed  in  the  preceding  year,  yields  a  better 
crop  of  wheat  than  it  does  when  the  clover  is  mown  twice  for  hay, 
or  even  only  once,  and  afterwards  fed  off  by  sheep." 

"I  do  not  think,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  this  agrees  with  our 
experience  here.  A  good  crop  of  clover-seed  is  profitable,  but  it  is 
thought  to  be  rather  hard  on  land." 

"  Such,"  said  I,  "  is  the  opinion  of  John  Johnston.  He  thinks 
allowing  clover  to  go  to  seed,  impoverishes  the  soil." 

Charley,  continued  to  read  : 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  true  explanation  of  the  apparent  anom- 
alies connected  with  the  growth  and  chemical  history  of  the  clover- 
plant,  the  facts  just  mentioned,  having  been  noticed,  not  once  or 
twice  only,  or  by  a  solitary  observer,  but  repeatedly,  and  by  num- 
bers of  intelligent  farmers,  are  certainly  entitled  to  credit ;  and 
little  wisdom,  as  it  strikes  me,  is  displayed  by  calling  them  into 
question,  because  they  happen  to  contradict  the  prevailing  theory, 
according  to  which  a  soil  is  said  to  become  more  or  less  impover- 
ished, in  proportion  to  the  large  or  small  amount  of  organic  and 
mineral  soil  constituents  carried  off  in  the  produce." 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVER.  137 

"  That  is  well  said,"  1  remarked,  "  and  very  truly ;  but  I  will  not 
interrupt  the  reading." 

"  In  the  course  of  a  long  residence,"  continues  Dr.  Vcelcker,  "  in 
a  purely  agricultural  district,  I  have  often  been  struck  with  the 
remarkably  healthy  appearance  and  good  yield  of  wheat,  on  land 
from  which  a  heavy  crop  of  clover-hay  was  obtained  in  the 
preceding  year.  I  have  likewise  had  frequent  opportunities  of 
observing,  that,  as  a  rule,  wheat  grown  on  part  of  a  field  whereon 
clover  has  been  twice  mown  for  hay,  is  better  than  the  produce  of 
that  on  the  part  of  the  same  field  on  which  the  clover  has  been 
mown  only  once  for  hay,  and  afterwards  fed  off  by  sheep.  These 
observations,  extending  over  a  number  of  years,  led  me  to  inquire 
into  the  reasons  why  clover  is  specially  well  fitted  to  prepare  land 
for  wheat ;  and  in  this  paper,  I  shall  endeavor,  as  the  result  of  my 
experiments  on  the  subject,  to  give  an  intelligible  explanation  of 
the  fact,  that  clover  is  so  excellent  a  preparatory  crop  for  wheat,  as 
it  is  practically  known  to  be. 

"By  those  taking  a  superficial  view  of  the  subject, it  may  be  sug- 
gested that  any  injury  likely  to  be  caused  by  the  removal  of  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  fertilizing  matter,  is  altogether  insignificant,  and 
more  than  compensated  for,  by  the  benefit  which  results  from  the 
abundant  growth  of  clover-roots,  and  the  physical  improvement  in 
the  soil,  which  takes  place  in  their  decomposition.  Looking,  how- 
ever, more  closely  into  the  matter,  it  will  be  found  that  in  a  good 
crop  of  clover-hay,  a  very  considerable  amount  of  both  mineral 
and  organic  substances  is  carried  off  the  land,  and  that,  if  the  total 
amount  of  such  constituents  in  a  crop  had  to  be  regarded  exclu- 
sively as  a  measure  for  determining  the  relative  degrees  in  which 
different  farm  crops  exhaust  the  soil,  clover  would  have  to  be  de- 
scribed as  about  the  most  exhausting  crop  in  the  entire  rotation. 

"  .Clover-hay,  on  an  average,  and  in  round  numbers,  contains  in 
100  parts  : 

Water 17.0 

Nitrogenous  substances,  (flesh-forming  matters)* 15.6 

Non-nitrogenous  compounds 59.9 

Mineral  matter,  (ash) 7.5 

100.0 


*  Containing  nitrogen 2.5 

"  The  mineral  portion,  or  ash,  in  100  parts  of  clover-hay,  consists 
of: 


138  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

Phosphoric  acid 7.5 

Sulphuric  acid 4.3 

Carbonic  acid 18.0 

Silica 3.0 

Lime 30.0 

Magnesia 8.5 

Potash 20.0 

Soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  oxide  of  iron,  sand,  loss,  etc 8/7 

100.0 


"  Let  us  suppose  the  land  to  have  yielded  four  tons  of  clover-hay 
per  acre.  According  to  the  preceding  data,  we  find  that  such  a 
crop  includes  224  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  equal  to  272  Ibs.  of  ammonia, 
and  672  Ibs.  of  mineral  matter  or  ash  constituents. 

In  672  Ibs.  of  clover-ash,  we  find : 

Phosphoric  acid 51i  Ibs. 

Sulphuric  acid  29 

Carbonic  acid 121 

Silica 20 

Lime 201 

Magnesia 57 

Potash 134i 

Soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  oxide  of  iron,  sand,  etc 58 

672  Ibs. 


"  Four  tons  of  clover-hay,  the  produce  of  one  acre,  thus  contain  a 
large  amount  of  nitrogen,  and  remove  from  the  soil  an  enormous 
quantity  of  mineral  matters,  abounding  in  lime  and  potash,  and 
containing  also  a  gooi  deal  of  phosphoric  acid. 

"Leaving  for  a  moment  the  question  untouched,  whether  the 
nitrogen  contained  in  the  clover,  is  derived  from  the  soil,  or  from 
the  atmosphere,  or  partly  from  the  one,  and  partly  from  the  other, 
no  question  can  arise  as  to  the  original  source  from  which  the 
mineral  matters  in  the  clover  produce  are  derived.  In  relation, 
therefore,  to  the  ash-constituents,  clover  must  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  exhausting  crops  usually  cultivated  in  this  country. 
This  appears  strikingly  to  be  the  case,  when  we  compare  the  pre- 
ceding figures  with  the  quantity  of  mineral  matters  which  an  aver- 
age crop  of  wheat  removes  from  an  acre  of  land. 

"  The  grain  and  straw  of  wheat  contain,  in  round  numbers,  in  100 

parts : 

Grains  of 
Wheat.    Straw. 

Water 15.0  16.0 

Nitrogenous  substances,  flesh-forming  matter)* 11.1  4.0 

Non-nitrogenous  substances 72.2  74.9 

Mineral  matter,  (ash) 1.7  5. 1 

100.0  100.0 

*  Containing  nitrogen 1.78  i64~ 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVEK. 


139 


"  The  ash  of  wheat  contains,  in  100  parts : 

Grain. 

Phosphoric  acid 50.0 

Sulphuric  acid 0.5 

Carbonic  acid 

Silica .' 2.5 

Lime 3.5 

Magnesia 11.5 

Potash 30.0 

Soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  oxide  of  iron,  sand,  etc 2.0 

Total.., 


Straw. 
5.0 

2.7 

67.0 
5.5 

2.0 
__13.G 

4.8 


100.0 


"  The  mean  produce  of  wheat,  per  acre,  may  be  estimited  at  25 
bushels,  which,  at  60  Ibs.  per  bushel,  gives  1,500  Ibs. ;  and  as  the 
weight  of  the  straw  is  generally  twice  that  of  the  grain,  its  pro- 
duce will  be  3,000  Ibs.  According,  therefore,  to  the  preceding 
data,  there  will  be  carried  away  from  the  soil : 

In  1,500  Ibs.  of  the  grain . .     25  Ibs.  of  mineral  food,  (in  round  numbers). 
In  3,000  Ibs.  of  the  straw. .  150  Ibs.  of  mineral  food,  (in  round  numbers). 

Total 175  Ibs. 

**  On  the  average  of  the  analyses,  it  will  be  found  that  the  com- 
position of  these  175  Ibs.  is  as  follows : 


In  th 
grair 

e 

. 

In  th 
straw 

e 

Total. 

Phosphoric  acid  "... 

12.5  It 

B 

7.5  It 

s 

20.0  Ibs. 

Sulphuric  acid 

0.1    ' 

4.0 

4.1    " 

Carbonic  acid 

Silica  

0.6 

100.5 

101  1     " 

Lime 

0.9 

8.2 

91    " 

Magnesia 

2.9 

30 

59    " 

Potash  ... 

7.5 

19.5 

270     " 

Soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  oxide  of  iron,  sand,  etc. 

0.5 

7.3 

7.8     '• 

25.  Ibs.     150.  Ibs. l'<5. Jbs. 

"  The  total  quantity  of  ash  constituents  carried  off  the  land,  in  an 
average  crop  of  wheat,  thus  amounts  to  only  175  Ibs.  per  acre, 
whilst  a  good  crop  of  clover  removes  as  much  as  672  Ibs. 

"  Nearly  two- thirds  of  the  total  amount  of  mineral  in  the  grain  and 
8:;raw  of  one  acre  of  wheat,  consists  of  silica,  of  which  there  is  an 
ample  supply  in  almost  every  soil.  The  restoration  of  silica,  there- 
fore, need  not  trouble  us  in  any  way,  especially  as  there  is  not  a 
single  instance  on  record,  proving  that  silica,  even  in  a  soluble 
condition,  has  ever  been  applied  to  land,  with  the  slightest  advan- 
tage to  corn,  or  grass-crops,  which  are  rich  in  silica,  and  which,  for 
this  reason,  may  be  assumed  to  be  particularly  grateful  for  it  in  a 
soluble  state.  Silica,  indeed,  if  at  all  capable  of  producing  a  bene- 
ficial effect,  ought  to  be  useful  to  these  crops,  either  by  strengthen- 
ing the  straw,  or  stems  of  graminaceous  plants,  or  otherwise  bene- 
tting  them ;  but,  after  deducting  the  amount  of  silica  from  the 


140  TALKS    O-V    MANURES. 

total  amount  of  mineral  matters  in  the  wheat  produced  from  one 
acre,  only  a  trifLng  quantity  of  other  and  more  valuable  fcitilizing 
ash  constituents  of  plants  will  be  left.  On  comparing  tiie  i dative 
amounts  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  in  an  average  cicp  of 
wheat,  and  a  good  crop  of  clover-hay,  it  will  be  seen  that  one  acre 
of  clover-hay  contains  as  much  phosphoric  acid,  as  two  and  one- 
half  acres  of  wheat,  and  as  much  potash  as  the  produce  from  five 
acres  of  the  same  crop.  Clover  thus  unquestionably  removes  from 
the  land  very  much  more  mineral  matter  than  does  wheat ;  wheat, 
notwithstanding,  succeeds  remarkably  well  after  clover. 

"  Four  tons  of  clover-hay,  or  the  produce  of  an  acre,  contains,  as 
already  stated,  224  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  or  calculated  as  ammonia, 
272  Ibs. 

"  Assuming  the  grain  of  wheat  to  furnish  1.78  per  cent  of  nitrogen, 
and  wheat-straw,  .64  per  cent,  and  assuming  also  that  1,500  Ibs.  of 
corn,  and  3,000  Ibs.  of  straw,  represent  the  average  produce  per 
acre,  there  will  be  in  the  grain  of  wheat,  per  acre,  26.7  Ibs.  of  nitro- 
gen, and  in  the  straw,  19.2  Ibs.,  or  in  both  together,  46  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen;  in  round  numbers,  equal  to  about  55  Ibs.  of  ammonia, 
which  is  only  about  one-fiftli  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  in  the  pro- 
duce of  an  acre  of  clover.  Wheat,  it  is  Wfll  known,  is  specially 
benefited  by  the  application  of  nitrogenous  manures,  and  as 
clover  carries  off  so  large  a  quantity  of  nitrogen,  it  is  natural  to 
expect  the  yield  of  wheat,  after  clover,  to  fall  short  of  what  the 
land  might  be  presumed  to  produce  without  manure,  before  a  crop 
of  clover  was  taken  from  it.  Experience,  however,  has  proved 
the  fallacy  of  this  presumption,  for  the  result  is  exactly  the  oppo- 
site, inasmuch  as  a  better  and  heavier  crop  of  wheat  is  produced 
than  without  the  intercalation  of  clover.  What,  it  may  be  asked, 
is  the  explanation  of  this  apparent  anomaly  ? 

"  In  taking  up  this  inquiry,  I  was  led  to  pass  in  review  the  cele- 
brated and  highly  important  experiments,  undertaken  by  Mr. 
Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert,  on  the  continued  growth  of  wheat  on  the 
same  soil,  for  a  long  succession  of  years,  and  to  examine,  likewise 
carefully,  many  points,  to  which  attention  is  drawn,  by  the  same 
authors' in  their  memoirs  on  the  growth  of  red  clover  by  different 
manures,  and  on  the  Lois  Weedon  plan  of  growing  wheat.  Abun- 
dant and  most  convincing  evidence  is  supplied  by  these  indefatiga- 
ble experimenters,  that  the  wheat-producing  powers  of  a  soil  are 
not  increased  in  any  sensible  degree  by  tho  liberal  supply  of  all 
the  mineral  matters,  which  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  ash  of 
wheat,  and  that  the  abstraction  of  these  mineral  matters  from  the 
soil,  in  any  much  larger  proportions  than  can  possibly  take  place 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER.  141 

under  ordinary  cultivation,  in  no  wise  affects  the  yieLl  of  wheat, 
provid-^1  there  be  at  the  same  time  a  liberal  supply  of  available 
nitrogen  within  the  soil  itself.  The  amount  of  the  later,  there- 
fore, is  regarded  by  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  as  the  measure  of 
the  increased  produce  of  grain  which  a  soil  furnishes. 

"  In  conformity  with  these  views,  the  farmer,  when  he  wishes  to 
increase  the  yield  of  his  wheat,  finds  it  to  his  advantage  to  have 
recourse  to  ammoniacal,  or  other  nitrogenous  manures,  and  depends 
more  or  less  entirely  upon  the  soil,  for  the  supply  of  the  neccessary 
mineral  or  ash-constituents  of  wheat,  having  found  such  a  supply 
to  be  amply  sufficient  for  his  requirements.  As  far,  therefore,  as 
the  removal  from  the  soil  of  a  large  amount  of  mineral  soil-constitu- 
ents, by  the  clover-crop,  is  concerned,  the  fact  viewed  in  the  light 
of  the  Rothamsted  experiments,  becomes  at  once  intelligible  ;  for, 
notwithstanding  the  abstraction  of  over  600  Ibs.  of  mineral  matter 
by  a  crop  of  clover,  the  succeeding  wheat-crop  does  not  suffer. 
Inasmuch,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  that  not  only  much  mineral 
matter  is  carried  off  the  land  in  a  crop  of  clover,  but  also  much 
nitrogen,  we  might,  in  the  absence  of  direct  evidence  to  the  con- 
trary, be  led  to  suspect  that  wheat,  after  clover,  would  not  be  a 
good  crop;  whereas,  the  fact  is  exactly  the  reverse. 

"It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  nitrogenous  manures,  which  have 
such  a  marked  and  beneficial  effect  upon  wheat,  do  no  good,  but 
in  certain  combinations,  in  some  seasons,  do  positive  harm  to 
clover.  Thus,  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  in  a  series  of  experi- 
ments on  the  growth  of  red-clover,  by  different  manures,  obtained 
14  tons  of  fresh  green  produce,  equal  to  about  three  and  three- 
fourths  tons  of  clover  hay,  from  the  unmanured  portion  of  the 
experimental  field;  and  where  sulphates  of  potash,  soda,  and  mag- 
nesia, or  sulphate  of  potash  and  superphosphate  of  lime  were  em- 
ployed, 17  to  18  tons,  (equal  to  from  about  four  and  one-half  to 
nearly  five  tons  of  hay),  were  obtained.  When  salts  of  ammonia 
were  added  to  the  mineral  manures,  the  produce  of  clover-hay  was, 
upon  the  whole,  less  than  where  the  mineral  manures  were  used 
alone.  The  wheat,  grown  after  the  clover,  on  the  unmanured  plot, 
gave,  however,  29£  bushels  of  corn,  whilst  in  the  adjoining  field, 
where  wheat  was  grown  after  wheat,  without  manure,  only  15£ 
bushels  of  corn  per  acre  were  obtained.  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert 
notice  espechlly,  that  in  the  clover-crop  of  the  preceding  year, 
very  much  larger  quantities,  both  of  mineral  matters  and  of 
nitrogen,  were  taken  from  the  land,  than  were  removed  in  the 
unmanured  wheat-crop  in  the  same  year,  in  the  adjoining  field. 
Notwithstanding  this,  the  soil  from  which  the  clover  had  been 


142  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

taken,  was  in  a  condition  to  yield  14  bushels  more  wheat,  per  acre, 
than  that  upon  which  wheat  had  been  previously  grown ;  the  yield 
of  wheat,  after  clover,  in  these  experiments,  being  fully  equal  to 
that  in  another  field,  where  large  quantities  of  manure  were  used. 
"  Taking  all  these  circumstances  into  account,  is  there  not  pre- 
sumptive evidence,  that,  notwithstanding  the  removal  of  a  large 
amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  clover-hay,  an  abundant  store  of  availa- 
ble nitrogen  is  left  in  the  soil,  and  also  that  in  its  relations  towards 
nitrogen  in  the  soil,  clover  differs  essentially  from  wheat  ?  The 
results  of  our  experience  in  the  growth  of  the  two  crops,  appear 
to  indicate  that,  whereas  the  growth  of  the  wheat  rapidly  ex- 
hausts the  land  of  its  available  nitrogen,  that  of  clover,  on  the 
contrary,  tends  somehow  or  other  to  accumulate  nitrogen  within 
the  soil  itself.  If  this  can  be  shown  to  be  the  case,  an  intelligible 
explanation  of  the  fact  that  clover  is  so  useful  as  a  preparatory  crop 
for  wheat,  will  be  found  in  the  circumstance,  that,  during  the 
growth  of  clover,  nitrogenous  food,  for  which  wheat  is  particularly 
grateful,  is  either  stored  up  or  rendered  available  in  the  soil. 

"  An  explanation,  however  plausible,  can  hardly  be  accepted  as 
correct,  if  based  mainly  on  data,  which,  although  highly  probable, 
are  not  proved  to  be  based  on  fact.  In  chemical  inquiries, 
especially,  nothing  must  be  taken  for  granted,  that  has  not  been 
proved  by  direct  experiment.  The  following  questions  naturally 
suggest  themselves  in  reference  to  this  subject:  What  is  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  in  soils  of  different  characters  ?  What  is  the 
amount  more  particularly  after  a  good,  and  after  an  indifferent  crop 
of  clover?  Why  is  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  soils,  larger  after 
clover,  than  after  wheat  and  other  crops  ?  Is  the  nitrogen  present 
in  a  condition  in  which  it  is  available  and  useful  to  wheat  ?  And 
lastly,  are  there  any  other  circumstances,  apart  from  the  supply  cf 
nitrogenous  matter  in  the  soil,  which  help  to  account  for  the  bene- 
ficial effects  of  clover  as  a  preparatory  crop  for  wheat  ? 

"  In  order  to  throw  some  light  on  these  questions,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, to  give  distinct  answers  to  at  least  some  of  them,  I,  years 
ago,  when  residing  at  Cirenccster,  began  a  series  of  experiments ; 
and  more  recently,  I  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  the  co- 
operation of  Mr.  Robert  Valentine,  of  Leighton  Buzzard,  who 
kindly  undertook  to  supply  me  with  materials  for  my  analysis. 

"  My  first  experiments  were  made  on  a  thin,  calcareous,  clay  soil, 
resting  on  oolitic  limestone,  and  producing  generally  a  fair  crop  of 
red-clover.  The  clover-field  formed  the  slope  of  a  rather  steep 
hillock,  and  varied  much  in  depth.  At  the  top  of  the  hill,  the  soil 
became  very  stony  at  a  depth  of  four  inches,  so  that  it  could  only 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVER.  143 

with  difficulty  be  excavated  to  a  depth  of  six  inches,  when  the  bare 
liniestone-rock  made  its  appearance.  At  the  bottom  of  the  field 
the  soil  was  much  deeper,  and  tae  clover  stronger,  than  at  the  upper 
part.  On  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where  the  clover  appeared  to  be 
strong,  a  square  yard  was  measured  out ;  and  at  a  little  distance  off, 
where  the  clover  was  very  bad,  a  second  square  yard  was  meas- 
ured; in  both  plots,  the  soil  being  taken  up  to  a  depth  of  six 
inches.  The  soil,  where  the  clover  was  good,  may  be  distinguished 
from  the  other,  by  being  marked  as  No.  1,  and  that  where  it  was 
ba.l,  as  No.  2. 

CLOVER-SOIL   NO.    1.     (GOOD    CLOVER). 

"  The  roots  having  first  been  shaken  out  to  free  them  as  much 
as  possible  from  the  soil,  were  then  washed  once  or  twice  with  cold 
distilled  water,  and,  after  having  been  dried  for  a  little  while  in  the 
san,  were  weighed,  when  the  square  yard  produced  1  Ib.  10|  6z. 
of  cleaned  clover-roots,  in  an  air-dry  state ;  an  acre  of  land,  or 
4,840  square  yards,  accordingly  yielded,  in  a  depth  of  six  inches, 
3.44  tons,  or  3£  tons  in  round  numbers,  of  clover-roots. 

"  Fully  dried  in  a  water-bath,  the  roots  were  found  to  contain 
altogether  44.67  per  cent  of  water,  and  on  being  burnt  in  a  pla- 
tinum capsule,  yielded  6.089  of  ash.  A  portion  of  the  dried,  finely 
powdered  and  well  mixed  roots,  was  burned  with  soda  lime,  in  a 
combustion  tube,  and  the  nitrogen  contained  in  the  roots  other- 
wise determined  in  the  usual  way.  Accordingly,  the  following 
is  the  general  composition  of  the  roots  from  the  soil  No.  1 : 

Water 44.C75 

Organic  matter*     49.£36 

Mineral  matter 6.089 

"iOOTOOO 


*  Containing  nitrogen 1.297 

Equal  to  ammonia 1.575 

"  Assuming  the  whole  field  to  have  produced  3$  tons  of  clover- 
roots,  per  acre,  there  will  be  99.636  Ibs.,  or  in  round  numbers,  100 
Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  the  clover -roots  from  one  acre ;  or,  about  twice 
as  much  nitrogen  as  is  present  in  the  average  produce  of  an  acre 
of  wheat." 

"That  is  a  remarkable  fact,"  saicl  the  Deacon,  "as  I  understand 
nitrogen  is  the  great  thing  needed  by  wheat,  and  yet  the  roots  alone 
of  the  clover,  contain  twice  as  much  nitrogen  as  an  average  crop 
of  wheat.  Go  on  Charley,  it  is  quite  interesting." 

"The  soil,"  continues  Dr.  Voebker,  "which  had  been  separated 
from  the  roots,  wns  passed  through  a  sieve  to  deprive  it  of  any 
stones  it  might  contain.  It  was  then  partially  dried,  and  the  nitix> 


144  TALKS    OX    MAXTJRKS. 

gen  in  it  determined  in  the  usual  manner,  by  combustion  with  soda- 
lime,  when  it  yielded  .313  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  equal  to  .38  of 
ammonia,  in  one  combustion;  and  .373  per  cent  of  nitrogen, equal 
t3  .46  of  ammonia,  in  a  second  determination. 

"  That  the  reader  may  have  some  idea  of  the  character  of  this 
soil,  it  may  be  stated,  chat  it  was  further  submitted  to  a  general 
analysis,  according  to  which,  it  was  found  to  have  the  following 
composition : 
GENERAL    COMPOSITION    OF    SOIL,  NO.   1.    (GOOD    CLOVER). 

M  Msture 18. 73 

Organic  matter* 9.72 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 13.24 

Carbonate  of  lime 8.82 

Magnesia,  alkalies,  etc 1.72 

Insoluble  silicious  matter,  (chiefly  clay) 47.77 

100.00 


*  Containing  nitrogen  .......................................  313 

Equal  to  ammonia  .........................................  380 

"The  second  square  yard  from  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where  the 
clover  was  bad,  produced  13  ounces  of  air-dry,  and  partially  clean 
roots,  or  1.75  tons  per  acre.     On  analysis,  they  were  found  to  have 
the  following  composition  : 

CLOVER-ROOTS,    NO.  2.    (BAD    CLOVER). 
Water  .......................................................      55.732 

Organic  matter*  ..............................................       39.408 

Mineral  matter,  (ash)  ........................................  __  4.860 

100.000 

*  Containing  nitrogen  .....................................  792 

Equal  to  ammonia  ......................  .................  901 

"  The  roots  on  the  spot  where  the  clover  was  very  bad,  yielded 
only  31  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre,  or  scarcely  one-third  of  the 
quantity  which  was  obtained  from  the  roots  where  the  clover  was 
good. 

"  The  soil  from  the  second  square  yard,  on  analysis,  was  found, 
when  freed  from  stones  by  sifting,  to  contain  in  100  parts  : 

COMPOSITION    OF    SOIL,    NO.    2.    (BAD    CLOVER)> 
Water  .........................................................     17.24 

Organic  matter*  ..........................     ...................       9.64 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina  .............................  .......     11.89 

Carbonate  of  lime  .............................................      14.50 

Magnesia,  alkalies,  etc  .........................................       1.53 

Insoluble  silicious  matter  ......................................     45.20 

100.00 


mination. 
*Containing  nitrogen  ............................  306  .330 

Equal  to  ammonia  ......  ........................  370  .470 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER.  145 

"Both  portions  of  the  clover-soil  thus  contained  about  the  same 
percentage  of  orgaaic  matter,  and  yielded  nearly  the  same  amount 
of  nitrogen. 

"  In  addition,  however,  to  the  nitrogen  in  the  clover-roots,  a 
good  deal  of  nitrogen,  in  the  shape  of  root-fibres,  decayed  leaves, 
and  similar  organic  matters,  was  disseminated  throughout  the  fine 
soil  in  which  it  occurred,  and  from  which  it  could  not  be  sepa- 
rated ;  but  unfortunately,  I  neglected  to  weigh  the  soil  from  a 
square  yard,  and  am,  therefore,  unable  to  state  how  much  nitrogen 
per  acre  was  present  hi  the  shape  of  small  root-fibres  and  other 
organic  matters. 

**  Before  mentioning  the  details  of  the  experiments  made  in  the 
next  season,  I  will  here  give  the  composition  of  the  ash  of  the  par- 
tially cleaned  clover-roots : 

COMPOSITION   OF   ASH   OF    CLOVER-ROOTS,  (PARTIALLY 
CLEANED). 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 11.73 

Lime 18.49 

Ma.^esia 3.03 

Potash 6.88 

Soda 1.93 

Phosphoric  acid 3.61 

Sulphuric  acid 2.24 

Soluble  silica 19.01 

Insoluble  silicious  matter 24.83 

Carbonic  acid,  chlorine,  and  loss 8.25 

100.  OJ 


"  This  ash  was  obtained  from  clover-roots,  which  yielded,  when 
perfectly  dry,  in  round  numbers,  eight  per  cent  of  ash.  Clover- 
roots,  washed  quite  clean,  and  separated  from  all  soil,  yield  about 
five  per  cent  of  ash ;  but  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  clean  a  large 
quantity  of  fibrous  roots  from  all  dirt,  and  the  preceding  analysis 
distinctly  shows,  that  the  ash  of  the  clover-roots,  analyzed  by  me, 
was  mechanically  mixed  with  a  good  deal  of  fine  soil,  for  oxide  of 
iron,  and  alumina,  and  insoluble  silicious  matter  in  any  quantity, 
are  not  normal  constituents  of  plant-ashes.  Making  allowance  for 
soil  contamination,  the  ash  of  clover-roots,  it  will  be  noticed,  con- 
tains much  lime  and  potash,  as  well  as  an  appreciable  amount  of 
phosphoric  and  sulphur'c  acid.  On  the  decay  of  the  clover-roots, 
these  and  other  mineral  fertilizing  matters  arc  left  in  the  surface- 
soil  in  a  readily  available  condition,  and  in  considerable  propor- 
tions, when  the  clover  stands  well.  Although  a  crop  of  clover 
removes  much  mineral  matter  from  the  soil,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  that  its  roots  extract  from  the  land,  soluble  mineral  fcrtlliz- 
7 


146  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

ing  matters,  which,  on  the  decay  of  the  roots,  remain  in  the  land 
in  a  prepared  and  more  readily  available  form,  than  that  in  which 
they  originally  occur.  The  benefits  arising  to  wheat,  from  the 
growth  of  clover,  may  thus  be  due  partly  to  this  prepaiacion  and 
concentration  of  mineral  food  in  the  surface-soil. 

"  The  clover  on  the  hillside  field,  on  the  whole,  turned  out  a 
very  good  crop ;  and,  as  the  plant  stood  the  winter  well,  and  this 
field  was  left  another  season  in  clover,  without  being  plowed  up,  I 
availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  making,  durirg  the  following 
season,  a  number  of  experiments  similar  to  those  of  the  preceding 
year.  This  time,  however,  I  selected  for  examination,  a  square 
yard  of  soil,  from  a  spot  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where  the  clover 
was  thin,  and  the  soil  itself  stony  at  a  depth  of  four  inches;  and 
another  plot  of  one  square  yard  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  from  a 
place  where  the  clover  was  stronger  than  that  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill,  and  the  soil  at  a  depth  of  six  inches  contained  no  large  stones. 

SOIL  NO.    1.  (CLOVER   THIN),  ON   THE  BROW  OF   THE  HILL. 

"  The  roots  in  a  square  yarcl,  six  inches  deep,  when  picked  out 
by  hand,  and  cleaned  as  much  as  possible,  weighed,  in  their  natural 
state,  2  Ibs.  11  oz. ;  and  when  dried  on  the  top  of  a  water-bath,  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  them  brittle  and  fit  for  reduction  into  fine 
powder,  1  Ib.  12  oz.  31  grains.  In  this  state  they  were  submitted 
as  before  to  analysis,  when  they  yielded  in  100  parts : 

COMPOSITION  OF    CLOVER-ROOTS,    NO.    1,    (FROM    BROW  OF 

HILL). 

Moisture 4.34 

Organic  matter* 26.53 

Mineral  matter 69.13 

100.00 


*  Containing  nitrogen 816 

Equal  to  ammonia 991 

"According  to  these  data,  an  acre  of  land  will  yield  three  tons 
12  cwts.  of  nearly  dry  clover-roots,  and  in  this  quantity  there  will 
be  about  66  Ibs.  of  nitrogen.  The  whole  of  the  soil  from  which 
the  roots  have  been  picked  out,  was  passed  through  a  half-inch 
sieve.  The  stones  left  in  the  sieve  weighed  141  Ibs. ;  the  soil 
which  passed  through  weighing  218  Ibs. 

"  The  soil  was  next  dried  by  artificial  heat,  when  the  218  Ibs. 
became  reduced  to  185.487  Ibs. 

•*  In  this  partially  dried  state  it  contained  : 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVER.  147 

Moisture 4.21 

Organic  matter* 9.78 

Mineral  umttert _86:^: 

IQOTOQ 

*  Containing  nitrogen 391 

Equal  to  ammonia *'* 

t  Including  phosphoric  acid 20-1 

"  I  also  determined  the  phosphoric  acid  in  the  ash  of  the  clover- 
roots.  Calculated  for  the  roots  in  a  nearly  dry  state,  the  phos- 
phoric acid  amounts  to  .287  per  cent. 

"  An  acre  of  soil,  according  to  the  data,  furnished  by  the  six 
inches  on  the  spot  where  the  clover  was  thin,  produced  the  follow- 
ing quantity  of  nitrogen : 

Ton.    Cwts.  Lbs. 

In  the  fine  soil 1        H 

In  the  clover-roots 0 

Total  quantity  of  nitrogen  per  acre .  ,\ _1 11        99 

"The  organic  matter  in  an  acre  of  this  soil,  which  can  not  be 
picked  out  by  hand,  it  will  be  seen,  contains  an  enormous 
quantity  of  nitrogen;  and  although,  probably,  the  greater  part  of 
the  roots  and  other  remains  from  the  clover-crop  may  not  be  de- 
composed so  thoroughly  as  to  yield  nitrogenous  food  to  the  suc- 
ceeding wheat-crop,  it  can  scarcely  bs  doubted  that  a  considerable 
quantity  of  nitrogen  will  become  available  by  the  lime  the  wheat 
is  sown,  and  that  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  clover  benefits  the 
succeeding  wheat-crop,  is  to  be  found  in  the  abundant  supply  of 
available  nitrogenous  food  furnished  by  the  decaying  clover-roots 
and  leaves. 

CLOVER-SOIL    NO.    2,    FROM   THE    BOTTOM    OF    THE    HILL, 
(GOOD    CLOVER.) 

"  A  square  yard  of  the  soil  from  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  where 
the  clover  was  stronger  than  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  produced  2 
Ibs.  8  oz.  of  fresh  clover-roots ;  or  1  Ib.  11  oz.  47  grains  of  par- 
tially dried  roots;  61  Ibs.  9  oz.  of  limestones,  and  239.96  Ibs.  of 
nearly  dry  soil. 

"  The  partially  dried  roots  contained : 

Moisture 5.06 

Org.inic  matter* 7 31.91 

Mineral  matter 63.00 

100.00 

*  Containing  nitrogen "7804 

"  An  acre  of  this  soil,  six  inches  deep,  produced  3  tons,  7  cwfs. 
65  Ibs.  of  clover-roots,  containing  61  Ibs.  of  nitrogen ;  that  is,  there 


3*3  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

was  very  nearly  tne  same  quantity  of  roots  and  nitrogen  in  them, 
as  that  furnished  in  the  soil  from  the  brow  of  the  lull. 

'•  The  roots,  moreover,  yielded  .365  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid ; 
or,  calculated  per  acre,  27  Ibs. 

"  In  the  partially  dried  soil,  I  found  : 

Moisture 4.70 

Organic  matier* .' 10.87 

Mineral  matterf 84.43 

luO.OO 


*  Containing  nitrogen 405 

Equal  to  ammonia 491 

t  Including  phosphoric  acid 321 

"  According  to  these  determinations,  an  acre  of  soil  from  the 
bottom  of  the  hill,  contains : 

Tons.  Owts.  Lbs. 

Nitrogen  in  the  organic  matter  of  the  soil 2         2          0 

Nitrogen  in  clover-roots  of  the  soil 0         0        61 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  per  acre...  r 2         2     ~~6l 

"  Compared  with  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil  from  the 
brow  of  the  hill,  about  11  cwt.  more  nitrogen  was  obtained  in  the 
soil  and  roots  from  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  where  the  clover  was 
more  luxuriant. 

"  The  increased  amount  of  nitrogen  occurred  in  fine  root-fibres 
and  other  organic  matters  of  the  soil,  and  not  in  the  coarser  bits  of 
roots  which  were  picked  out  by  the  hand.  It  may  be  assumed 
that  the  finer  particles  of  organic  matter  are  more  readily  decom- 
posed than  the  coarser  roots ;  and  as  there  was  a  larger  amount  of 
nitrogen  in  this  than  in  the  preceding  soil,  it  may  be  expected  that 
the  land  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  after  removal  of  the  clover,  was 
in  a  better  agricultural  condition  for  wheat,  than  that  on  the  brow 
ofthehilL 


EXPERIMENTS    OX   CLOVER-SOILS.  149 


CHAPTER     XXV  I. 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS    FROM    BURCOTT 
LODGE   FARM,   LEIGHTON    BUZZARD. 

5  The  soils  for  the  next  experiments,  were  kindly  supplied  to  me, 
•A  1866,  by  Robert  Valentine,  of  Burcott  Lodge,  who  also  sent  me 
some  notes  respecting  the  growth  and  yield  of  clover-hay  and  seed 
on  this  soil. 

"  Foreign  seed,  at  the  rate  of  12  Ibs.  per  acre,  was  sown  with  a 
crop  of  wheat,  which  yielded  five  quarters  per  acre  the  previous 
year. 

a  The  first  crop  of  clover  was  cut  down  on  the  25th  of  June, 
1866,  and  carried  on  June  30th.  The  weather  was  very  warm, 
from  the  tune  of  cutting  until  the  clover  was  carted,  the  thermome- 
ter standing  at  80°  Fahr.  every  day.  The  clover  was  turned  in  the 
swath,  on  the  second  day  after  it  was  cut;  on  the  fourth  day,  it 
was  turned  over  and  put  into  small  heaps  of  about  10  Ibs.  each ; 
and  on  the  fifth  day,  these  were  collected  into  larger  cocks,  and 
then  stacked. 

"  The  best  part  of  an  11-acre  field,  produced  nearly  three  tons  of 
clover-hay,  sun-dried,  per  acre ;  the  whole  field  yielding  on  an  aver- 
age, 2-J  tons  per  acre.  This  result  was  obtained  by  weighing  the 
stack  three  months  after  the  clover  was  carted.  The  second  crop 
was  cut  on  the  21st  of  August,  and  carried  on  the  27th,  the  weight 
being  nearly  30  cwt.  of  hay  per  acre.  Thus  the  two  cuttings  pro- 
duced just  about  four  tons  of  clover-hay  per  acre. 

"  The  11  acres  were  divided  into  two  parts.  About  one-half  was 
mown  for  hay  a  second  time,  and  the  other  part  left  for  seed.  The 
produce  of  the  second  half  of  the  11-acre  field,  was  cut  on  the  8th 
of  October,  and  carried  on  the  10th.  It  yielded  in  round  numbers, 
3  cwt.  of  clover-seed  per  acre,  the  season  being  very  unfavorable 
'  for  clover-seed.  The  second  crop  of  clover,  mown  for  hay,  waa 
rather  too  ripe,  and  just  beginning  to  show  seed. 

"  A  square  foot  of  soil,  18  inches  deep,  was  dug  from  the  second 
portion  of  the  land  which  produced  the  clover-hay  and  clover- 
seed. 

SOIL  FROM  FART  OF  11-ACRE  FIELD  TWICE  MOWN  FOR  HAT. 

"The  upper  six  inches  of  soil,  one  foot  square,  contained  all  the 
main  roots  of  18  strong  plants;  the  next  six  inches,  only  small 
root  fibres,  and  in  the  third  section,  a  six-inch  slice  cut  clown  at  a 


150  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

depth  of  12  inches  from  the  surface,  no  distinct  fibres  could  be 
found.  The  soil  \vas  almost  completely  saturated  with  ruin  wnen 
it  was  dug  up  on  the  18th  of  September,  186G : 

Lbs. 

The  upper  six  inches  of  soil,  one  foot  square,  weighed 60 

The  second        "  6L 

The  third  "  t>3 

"  These  three  portions  of  one  foot  of  soil,  18  inches  deep,  were 
dried  nearly  completely,  and  weighed  again ;  when  the  first  six 
inches  weighed  51£  Ibs. ;  the  second  six  inches,  51  Ibs.  5  oz.  ;  and 
th?  third  section,  54  Ibs.  2  oz. 

"  Th3  first  six  inches  contained  3  Ibs.  of  silicious  stones,  (flints), 
which  were  rejected  in  preparing  a  sample  for  analysis;  in  the 
two  remaining  sections  there  were  no  large  sized  stones.  The  soils 
were  pounded  down,  and  passed  through  a  wire  sieve. 

"  The  three  layers  of  soil,  dried  and  reduced  to  powder,  were 
mixed  together,  and  a  prepared  average  sample,  when  submitted 
to  analysis,  yielded  the  following  results : 

COMPOSITION    OF    CLOVER-SOIL,    18    INCHES    DEEP,     FROM 
PART  OF   11-ACRE  FIELD,   TWICE  MOWN  FOR  HAY. 

f  Organic  matter 5.86 

Oxides  of  iron 6.83 

Alumina 7.12 

Carbonate  of  lime 2.13 

Soluble    in    hy-  I  Magnesia 2.01 

drochloric  acid.  ]  Potash 67 

Soda 08 

Chloride  of  sodium 02 

Phosphoric  acid 18 

Sulphuric  acid  17 

f  Insoluble  silicious  matter.  7'4.G1.  Consisting  of  : 

Alumina 4.37 

Lime,  (in  a  state  of  silicate) 4.07 

Insoluble  in  acid  \  Magnesia 46 

•  Potash 19 
Soda 23 
Silica 65. 29 


"This  soil,  it  will  be  seen,  contained,  in  appreciable  quantities, 
not  only  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  but  all  the  elements  of  fertil- 
ity which  enter  into  the  composition  of  good  arable  land.  It  may 
be  briefly  described  as  a  stiff  clay  soil,  containing  a  sufficiency  of 
lime,  potash,  and  phosphoric  acid,  to  meet  all  the  requirements  of 
the  clover-crop.  Originally,  rather  unproductive,  it  has  been  much 
improved  by  deep  culture  ;  by  being  smashed  up  into  rough  clods, 
early  in  autumn,  and  by  being  exposed  in  this  state  to  the  crum- 
bling effects  of  the  air,  it  now  yields  good  corn  and  forage  crops. 


EXPERIMENTS   ON   CLOVER-SOILS.  151 

"  In  separate  portions  of  the  three  layers  of  soil,  the  proportions 
of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  contained  in  each  layer  of  six 
inches,  were  determined  and  found  to  be  as  follows : 

Soil  dried  at  212  deg.  Fahr. 
lat  MX  KJ,  mx  3d  nix 
inches,  inches,  inches. 

Percentage  of  phosphoric  acid 249        .1^4         .172 

Nitrogen 1.62          .092          .064 

Equal  to  ammonia 198        . 112          .078 

"  In  the  upper  six  inches,  as  will  be  seen,  the  percentage  of  both 
phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen,  was  larger  than  in  the  two  follow- 
ing layers,  while  the  proportion  of  nitrogen  in  the  six  inches  of  sur- 
face soil,  was  much  larger  than  in  the  next  six  inches ;  and  in  the 
third  section,  containing  no  visible  particles  of  root-fibres,  only 
very  little  nitrogen  occurred. 

"  In  their  natural  state,  the  three  layers  of  soil  contained : 

1st  six     2d  kix     3d  six 
indies,     inches,   inches. 

Moisture 17.16      18.24        16.62 

Phosphoric  acid 198        .109          .143 

Nitrogen 131        .075          .053 

Equal  to  ammonia 1CU        .091          .064 

Ibs.          Z&».          ibs. 
Weight  of  one  foot  square  of  soil GO          61  63 

"  Calculated  per  acre,  the  absolute  weight  of  one  acre  of  this 
land,  six  inches  deep,  weighs : 

Lbs. 

1st  six  inches 2,613,600 

2d  six  inches 2,657,160 

3d  six  inches 2,746,280 

"  No  great  error,  therefore,  will  be  made,  if  we  assume  in  the 
subsequent  calculations,  that  six  inches  of  this  soil  weighs  two  and 
one-half  millions  of  pounds  per  acre. 

"  An  acre  of  land,  according  to  the  preceding  determinations, 
contains : 

1st  six  inches,  2d  six  incJws,  3d  six  inches, 
Lbs.  Lb\  Lbs. 

Phosphoric  acid 4,950  2,725  3,575 

Nitrogen 3,350  1,875  1,325 

Equal  to  ammonia _i-050  g'275 

"  The  proportion  of  phosphoric  acid  in  six  inches  of  surface  soil, 
it  will  be  seen,  amounted  to  about  two-tenths  per  cent ;  a  propor- 
tion of  the  whole  soil,  so  small  that  it  may  appear  insufficient 
for  the  production  of  a  good  corn-crop.  However,  when  calcu- 
lated to  the  acre,  we  find  that  six  inches  of  surface  soil  in  an  acre  of 
land,  actually  contain  over  two  tons  of  phosphoric  acid.  An  aver- 
age crop  of  wheat,  assumed  to  be  25"bushels  of  grain,  at  60  Ibs.  per 


152  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

busliel,  and  3,000  Ibs.  of  straw,  removes  from  the  land  on  which  it 
is  grown,  20  Ibs.  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  clover-soil  analyzed  by 
nie,  consequently  contains-  an  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  in  a 
dyptu  of  only  six  inches,  which  is  equal  to  that  present  in  2474- 
average  crops  of  wheat ;  or  supposing  that,  by  good  cultivation 
and  in  favorable  seasons,  the  average  yield  of  wheat  could  be 
doubled,  and  50  bushels  of  grain,  at  GO  Ibs.  a  bushel,  and  6,000  ILs. 
of  straw  could  be  raised,  124  of  such  heavy  wheat-crops  would  con- 
tain  no  more  phosphoric  acid  than  actually  occurred  in  six  inches 
of  this  clover-soil  per  acre. 

"  The  mere  presence  of  such  an  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  in  a 
soil,  however,  by  no  means  proves  its  sufficiency  for  the  produc- 
tion of  so  many  crops  of  wheat ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  it  can  not 
be  shown  that  the  whole  of  the  phosphoric  acid  found  by  analysis, 
occurs  in  the  soil  in  a  readily  available  combination  ;  and,  in  the 
second  place,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  root  fibres  of  the  wheat- 
plant  can  not  reach  and  pick  up,  so  to  speak,  every  particle  of 
phosphoric  acid,  even  supposing  it  to  occur  in  the  soil  in  a  form 
most  conducive  to  'ready  assimilation  by  the  plant.' 

"  The  calculation  is  not  given  in  proof  of  a  conclusion  which 
would  be  manifestly  absurd,  but  simply  as  an  illustration  of  the 
enormous  quantity  in  an  acre  of  soil  six  inches  deep,  of  a  constitu- 
ent forming  the  smaller  proportions  of  the  whole  weight  of  an 
acre  of  soil  cf  that  limited  depth.  It  shows  the  existence  of  a  prac- 
tically unlimited  amount  of  the  most  important  mineral  constitu- 
ents of  plants,  and  clearly  points  out  the  propriety  of  rendering 
available  to  plants,  the  natural  resources  of  the  soil  in  plant- 
food  ;  to  draw,  in  fact,  up  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  soil,  by  thor- 
oughly working  the  land,  and  not  leaving  it  unutilized  as  so  much 
dead  capital." 

"  Good,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  is  the  right  doctrine." 

"  The  roots,"  continues  Dr.  Voelcker,  "  from  one  square  foot  of 
soil  were  cleaned  as  much  as  possible,  dried  completely  at  212°, 
and  in  that  state  weighed  240  grains.  An  cere  consequently  con- 
tained 1,493£  Ibs.  of  dried  clover-roots. 

"  The  clover-roots  contained,  dried  at  212°  Fahr. , 

Organic  matter* 81.33 

Mineral  matter, t  (ash) 18.67 

100.00 


*  Yielding  nitrogen 1.6-5 

Equal  to  ammonia 1.985 

t  Including  insoluble  silicious  matter,  (clay  and  sand) 11.67 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  153 

"  Accordingly  the  clover-roots  in  an  acre  of  land  furnished  24^ 
Ibs.  of  nitrogen.  We  have  thus : 

Lbs.  of 
nitrogen. 

In  the  six  inches  of  surface  soil 3,350^ 

In  large  clover-roots 

In  second  six  inches  of  soil 1,°<5 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  one  acre  of  soil  12  inches  deep 5,249£ 

Equal  to  ammonia ^»?I^t 

Or  in  round  numbers,  two  tons  six  cwt.  of  nitrogen  per  acre ;  an 
enormous  quantity,  which  must  have  a  powerful  influence  in  en- 
couraging the  luxuriant  development  of  the  succeeding  wheat- 
crop,  although  only  a  fraction  of  the  total  amount  of  nitrogen  in 
the  clover  remains  may  become  sufficiently  decomposed  in  time  to 
be  available  to  the  young  wheat-plants. 

CLOVER-SOIL  FROM  PART   OF   11-ACRE  FIELD  OF    BURCOTT 

LODGE    FARM,    LEIGHTON    BUZZARD,    ONCE     MOWN 

FOR  HAT,  AND  LEFT  AFTERWARDS  FOR  SEED. 

"  Produce  2|  tons  of  clover-hay,  and  3  cwt.  of  seed  per  acre. 

"  This  soil  was  obtained  within  a  distance  of  five  yards  from  the 
part  of  the  field  where  the  soil  was  dug  up  after  the  two  cuttings 
of  hay.  After  the  seed  there  was  some  difficulty  in  finding  a 
square  foot  containing  the  same  number  of  large  clover-roots,  as 
that  on  the  field  twice  mown  ;  however,  at  last,  in  the  beginning  of 
November,  a  square  foot  containing  exactly  18  strong  roots,  was 
found  and  dug  up  to  a  depth  of  18  inches.  The  soil  dug  after  the 
seed  was  much  drier  than  that  dug  after  the  two  cuttings  of  hay  : 

The  upper  six  inches  deep,  one  foot  square,  weighed 55  Ibs. 

The  next          "  u  t?       58    " 

The  third         "  "  "  ..  60    " 


"  After  drying  by  exposure  to  hot  air,  the  three  layers  of  soil 
weighed : 

The  upper  six  inches,  one  foot  square 40t  Ibs. 

The  next          "  " 5<H    " 

The  third         "  "  5H    " 


"Equal  portions  of  the  dried  soil  from  each  six-inch  section 
were  mixed  together  and  reduced  to  a  fine  powder.  An  average 
sample  thus  prepared,  on  analysis,  was  found  to  have  the  follow- 
ing composition : 


154  TALKS   ON    MANURES. 

COMPOSITION  OF  CLOVER-SOIL  ONCE  MOWN  FOR  HAY,  AND 
AFTERWARDS  LEFT  FOR  SEED.    DRIED  AT  212°  FAHR. 

f  Organic  matter 5.34 

|  Oxides  of  iron 6.07 

Alumina 4.51 

Carbonate  of  lime 7.51 

Soluble    in    hy-J  Magnesia 1.27 

drochloric  acid.  '  Potash 52 

Soda 1(5 

Chloride  of  sodium 03 

Phosphoric  acid 15 

Sulphuric  acid 19 

Insoluble  silicious  matter,  73.84.  Consisting  of  : 

Alumina 4.14 

Lime  (in  a  state  of  silicate) 2.69 

Insoluble  in  acid    Magnesia 68 

Potash 24 

Soda .21 

[Silica 65.88 

99.59 

"  The  soil,  it  will  be  seen,  in  general  character,  resembles  the  pre- 
ceding sample ;  it  con  tains  a  good  deal  of  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid,  and  may  be  presumed  to  be  well  suited  to  the  growth  of 
clover.  It  contains  more  carbonate  of  lime,  and  is  somewhat 
lighter  than  the  sample  from  the  part  of  the  field  twice  mown  for 
hay,  and  may  be  termed  heavy  calcareous  clay. 

"  An  acre  of  this  land,  18  inches  deep,  weighed,  when  very  nearly 
dry: 

Us. 

Surface,  six  inches 8,407,900 

Next  "  2,44i,200 

Third  " _2,480,500 

"Or  in  round  numbers,  every  six  inches  of  soil  weighed  per 
acre  2$  millions  of  pounds,  which  agrees  tolerably  well  with  the 
actual  weight  per  acre  of  the  preceding  soil. 

"  The  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  in  each  six-inch 
layer  was  determined  separately  as  before,  when  the  following 
results  were  obtained : 

IN   DRIED    SOIL. 

First        Second        Third 
six  inches,  six  inches,  six  inches. 

Percentage  of  phosphoric  acid 159  .166  .140 

Nitrogen. 183  .184  .089 

.Equal  to  ammonia 229  .163  .108 

"An  acre,  according  to  these  determinations,  contains  in  the 
three  senarate  sections : 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  155 

First        Second        T/.ird 

six  inches,  six  inches,  six  inches. 

Ibs.  Ibs.  Ibs. 

Phosphoric  acid 3,975         4,150         3,500 

Nitrogen 4,725          3,350         2,:;25 

Equal  to  ammonia 5,725         4,050         2,700 

"Here,  again,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  the  proportion  of 
nitrogen  is  largest  in  the  surface,  where  all  the  decaying  leaves 
dropped  during  the  growth  of  the  clover  for  seed  are  found,  and 
wherein  root-fibres  are  more  abundant  than  in  the  lower  stratn. 
The  first  six  inches  of  soil,  it  will  be  seen,  contained  in  round 
numbers,  2£  tons  of  nitrogen  per  acre,  that  is,  considerably  more 
than  was  found  in  the  same  section  of  the  soil  where  the  clover 
was  mown  twice  for  hay ;  showing  plainly,  that  during  the  ripening 
of  the  clover  seed,  the  surface  is  much  enriched  by  the  n.trogen- 
ous  matter  in  the  dropping  leaves  of  the  clover-plant. 

"  Clover-roots. — The  roots  from  one  square  foot  of  this  soil,  freed 
as  much  as  possible  from  adhering  soil,  were  dried  at  212°,  and 
when  weighed  and  reduced  to  a  fine  powder,  gave,  on  analysis,  the 
following  results : 

Oganic  matter* 64.76 

Mineral  mattert 35.24 

100.00 


*  Containing  nitrogen 1.709 

Equal  to  ammonia 2.066 

t Including  clay  and  sand  (insoluble  silieious  matter) 26.04 

"  A  square  foot  of  this  soil  produced  582  grains  of  dried  clover- 
roots,  consequently  an  acre  yielded  3,622  Ibs.  of  roots,  or  more 
than  twice  the  weight  of  roots  obtained  from  the  soil  of  the  same 
fieH  where  the  clover  was  twice  mown  for  hay. 

"In  round  numbers,  the  3,622  Ibs.  of  clover-roots  from  the  land 
mown  once,  and  afterwards  left  for  seed,  contained  51£  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen. 

"  The  roots  from  the  soil  after  clover-seed,  it  will  be  noticed, 
were  not  so  clean  as  the  preceding  sample,  nevertheless,  they 
yielded  more  nitrogen.  In  64.76  of  organic  matter,  we  have  here 
1.702  of  nitrogen,  whereas,  in  the  case  of  the  roots  from  the  part 
of  the  field  where  the  clover  was  twice  mown  for  hay,  we  have  in 
81.33  parts,  that  is,  much  more  organic  matter,  and  1.635,  or  rather 
less  of  nitrogen.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  organic  matter 
in  the  soil  after  clover  seed,  occurs  in  a  more  advanced  stage  of 
decomposition,  than  found  in  the  clover-roots  from  the  part  of  the 
field  twice  mown.  In  the  manure,  in  which  the  decay  of  such 
and  similar  organic  remains  proceeds,  much  of  the  non-nitrogen- 
o'is,  or  carbonaceous  matters,  of  which  these  remains  chiefly, 


156 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


though  not  entirely,  consist,  is  transformed  into  gaseous  carbonic 
acid,  and  what  remains  behind,  becomes  richer  in  nitrogen  and 
mineral  matters.  A  parallel  case,  showing  the  dissipation  of  car- 
bonaceous matter,  and  the  increase  in  the  percentage  of  nitrogen 
and  mineral  matter  in  what  is  left  behind,  is  presented  to  us  in 
fresh  and  rotten  dung ;  in  long  or  fresh  dung,  the  percentage  of 
organic  matter,  consisting  chiefly  of  very  imperfe°tly  decom- 
posed straw,  being  larger,  and  that  of  nitrogen  and  mineral 
matter  smaller,  than  in  well-rotted  dung. 

"  The  roots  from  the  field  after  clover-seed,  it  will  be  borne  in 
mind,  were  dug  up  in  November,  whilst  those  obtained  from  the 
land  twice  mown,  were  dug  up  in  September;  the  former,  there- 
fore, may  be  expected  to  be  in  a  more  advanced  state  of  decay 
than  the  latter,  and  richer  in  nitrogen. 

"  In  an  acre  of  soil,  after  clover-seed,  we  have : 

Lbs. 

Nitrogen  in  first  six  inches  of  soil 4,725 

Nitrogen  in  roots 51i 

Nitrogen  in  second  six  inches  of  soil 3,850 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen,  per  acre,  in  twelve  inches  of  soil 8,1^6? 

"  Equal  to  ammonia,  9,867  Ibs.  :  or,  in  round  numbers,  3  tons 
and  12$  cwts.  of  nitrogen  per  aero;  equal  to  4  tons  8  cwts.  of 
ammonia. 

"  This  is  a  very  much  larger  amount  of  nitrogen  than  occurred  in 
the  other  soil,  and  shows  plainly  that  the  total  amount  of  nitrogen 
accumulates  especially  in  the  surface-soil,  when  clover  is  grown 
for  seed ;  thus  explaining  intelligibly,  as  it  appears  to  me,  why 
wheat,  as  stated  by  many  practical  men,  succeeds  better  on  land 
where  clover  is  grown  for  seed,  than  where  it  is  mown  for  hay. 

"All  the  three  layers  of  the  soil,  after  clover-seed,  are  richer  in 
nitrogen  than  the  same  sections  of  the  soil  where  the  clover  was 
twice  mown,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  comparative  state- 
ment of  results :' 


I. 

CLOVEP.-SOIL,  TWICE 
MOW.;. 

n. 

CLOVER-SOIL  OXCE  MOW* 
AND  THEN  LEFT  FOR  SEED. 

Upper 
6i-  idles. 

Second 
binch.es. 

Third  \    Upper 

^Next 

Lpivest 

Perceiitasfe  of  nitrogen  in 
dried  soil 

.163 
.193 

.093 

.i» 

.034 
.078 

.189 

.229 

.131 

.182 

.089 
.108 

Equal  to  ammonia  .  . 

"This  difference  in  the  amount  of  accumulated  nitrogen   ia 
clove>land,  appears  still  more  strikingly  on  comparing  the  tots! 


EXPERIMENTS    OX    CLOVER-SOILS.  157 

amounts  of  nitrogen  per  acre  in  the  different  sections  of  the  two 
portions  of  the  11-acre  field. 

PERCENTAGE    OF  NITROGEN    PER   ACRE. 

First         Second  Third 

six  inches,  six  inches,  six  inches. 

Lbs.            Lbi.  Lx. 

I.  In  soil,  clover  twice  mown* )    3,350         1,875  1,325 

II.  In  soil,  clover  once  mown  and  seeded  > 

afterwardst )    4,725          3,850  2,025 


Equal  to  ammonia  :  ) 

*  I.  Clover  twice  mown V  4,059          2,275         1,GOO 

til.  Clover  seeded j    5,725         4,050         2,700 

Lbs. 

I.  Nitrogen  in  roots  of  clover  twice  mown )          241 

II.  Nitrogen  in  clover,  once  mown,  and  grown  for  seed  after-  > 

wards )          51i 

I.  Weight  of  dry  roots  per  acre  from  Soil  I  j  1,493 i 

II.  Weight  of  dry  roots  per  acre  from  Soil  II j  3,022 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  1  acre,  12  inches  deep  of  Soil  I*.  [  5,249* 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  1  acre,  12  inches  deep  of  Soil  Ilf.  \  8,128  i 

Excess  of  nitrogen  in  an  acre  of  soil  12  inches  deep,  calculated  (  «  rQOi 

as  ammonia  in  part  of  field,  mown  once  and  then  seeded [  ~>_*_ 

*  Equal  to  ammonia )  ~6£741H 

t Equal  to  ammonia j     9,867 

<:  It  will  be  seen  that  not  only  was  the  amount  of  large  clover- 
roots  greater  in  the  part  where  clover  was  grown  for  seed,  but  tliat 
likewise  the  different  layers  of  soil  were  in  every  instance  richer 
in  nitrogen  after  clover -seed,  than  after  clover  mown  twice  for 
hay. 

"  Reasons  are  given  in  the  beginning  of  this  paper  which  it  is 
hoped  will  have  convinced  the  reader,  that  the  fertility  of  land 
is  not  so  much  measured  by  the  amount  of  ash  constituents  of 
plants  which  it  contains,  as  by  the  amount  of  nitrogen,  which,  to- 
g;ther  with  an  excess  of  such  ash  constituents,  it  contains  in  an 
available  form.  It  has  been  shown  likewise,  that  the  removal  from 
the  soil  of  a  large  amount  of  mineral  matter  in  a  good  clover-crop, 
in  conformity  with  many  direct  field  experiments,  is  not  likely  in 
any  degree  to  affect  the  wheat-crop,  and  that  the  yield  of  wheat  on 
soils  under  ordinary  cultivation,  according  to  the  experience  of 
many  farmers,  and  the  direct  and  numerous  experiments  of  Messrs. 
Lawes  and  Gilbert,  rises  or  falls,  other  circumstances  being  equal, 
with  the  supply  of  available  nitrogenous  food  which  is  given  to 
the  wheat  This  being  the  case,  we  can  not  doubt  that  the  benefits 
arising  from  the  growth  of  clover  to  the  succeeding  wheat,  are 
mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  an  immense  amount  of  nitrogenous 
food  accumulates  in  the  soil  during  the  growth  of  clover. 


158  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  This  accumulation  of  nitrogenous  plant-food,  specially  useful 
to  cereal  crops,  is,  as  shown  in  the  preceding  experiments,  much 
greater  when  clover  is  grown  for  seed,  than  when  it  is  made  into 
hay.  This  affords  an  intelligible  explanation  of  a  fact  long 
observed  by  good  practical  men,  although  denied  by  other';  who 
decline  to  accept  their  experience  as  resting  upon  trustworthy  evi- 
dence, because,  as  they  say,  land  cannot  become  more  fertile  when 
a  crop  is  grown  upon  it  for  seed,  which  is  carried  off,  than  when 
that  crop  is  cut  down  and  the  produce  consumed  on  the  land.  The 
chemical  points  brought  forward  in  the  course  of  this  inquiry, 
show  plainly  that  mere  speculation  as  to  what  can  take  place  in  a 
soil,  and  what  not,  do  not  much  advance  the  true  theory  of  cer- 
tain agricultural  practices.  It  is  only  by  carefully  investigating 
subjects  like  the  one  under  consideration,  that  positive  proofs  are 
given,  showing  the  correctness  of  intelligent  observers  in  the  fields. 
Many  years  ago,  I  made  a  great  many  experiments  relative  to  the 
chemistry  of  farm-yard  manure,  and  then  showed,  amongst  other 
particulars,  that  manure,  spread  at  once  on  the  land,  need  not 
there  and  then  be  plowed  in,  inasmuch  as  neither  a  broiling  sun, 
nor  a  sweeping  and  drying  wind  will  cause  the  slightest  loss  of 
nmmonin;  and  that,  therefore,  the  old-fashioned  farmer  who  carts 
his  manure  on  the  laud  as  soon  as  he  can,  and  spreads  it  at  once, 
but  who  plows  it  in  at  his  convenience,  acts  in  perfect  accordance 
with  correct  chemical  principles  involved  in  the  management  of 
farm-yard  manure.  On  the  present  occasion,  my  main  object  has 
been  to  show,  not  merely  by  reasoning  on  the  subject,  but  by  actual 
experiments,  that  the  larger  the  amounts  of  nitrogen,  potash,  soda, 
lime,  phosphoric  acid,  etc.,  which  are  removed  from  the  laud  in  a 
clover-crop,  the  better  it  is,  nevertheless,  made  thereby  for  produc- 
ing in  the  succeeding  year  an  abundant  crop  of  wheat,  other  cir- 
cumstances being  favorable  to  its  growth. 

"  Indeed,  no  kind  of  manure  can  be  compared  in  point  of  efficacy 
for  wheat,  to  the  manuring  which  the  land  gets  in  a  really  good 
crop  of  clover.  The  farmer  who  wishes  to  derive  the  full  benefit 
from  his  clover-lay,  should  plow  it  up  for  wheat  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble in  the  autumn,  and  leave  it  in  a  rough  state  as  long  as  is  admis- 
sible, in  order  that  the  air  may  find  free  access  into  the  land,  and 
the  organic  remains  left  in  so  much  abundance  in  a  good  crop  of 
clover  be  changed  into  plant-food ;  more  especially,  in  other  words, 
in  order  that  the  crude  nitrogenous  organic  matter  in  the  clover- 
roots  and  decaying  leaves,  may  have  time  to  become  transformed 
into  ammoniacal  compounds,  and  these,  in  the  course  of  time,  into 
nitrates,  which  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  think  is  the  form  in  which 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  159 

nitrogen  is  assimilated,  par  excellence  by  cereal  crops,and  in  which, 
at  all  events,  it  is  more  efficacious  than  in  any  other  state  of  com- 
bination wherein  it  may  be  used  as  a  fertilizer. 

"  When  the  clover-lay  is  plowed  up  early,  the  decay  of  the  clover 
is  sufficiently  advanced  by  the  time  the  young  wheat-plant  stands 
in  need  of  readily  available  nitrogenous  food,  and  this  being  uni- 
formly distributed  through  the  whole  of  the  cultivated  soil,  is 
ready  to  benefit  every  single  plant.  This  equal  and  abundant  dis- 
tribution of  food,  peculiarly  valuable  to  cereals,  is  a  great  advan- 
tage, and  speaks  strongly  in  favor  of  clover  as  a  preparatory  crop 
for  wheat. 

"  Nitrate  of  soda,  an  excellent  spring  top-dressing  for  wheat  and 
cereals  in  general,  in  some  seasons  fails  to  produce  as  good  an  effect 
as  in  others.  In  very  dry  springs,  the  rainfall  is  not  sufficient  to 
wash  it  properly  into  the  soil  and  to  distribute  it  equally,  and  in 
very  wet  seasons  it  is  apt  to  be  washed  either  into  the  drains  or 
into  a  stratum  of  the  soil  not  accessible  to  the  roots  of  the  young 
wheat.  As,  therefore,  the  character  of  the  approaching  season 
can  not  usually  be  predicted,  the  application  of  nitrate  of  soda  to 
wheat  is  always  attended  with  more  or  less  uncertainty. 

"  The  case  is  different,  when  a  good  crop  of  clover-hay  has  been 
obtained  from  the  land  on  which  wheat  is  intended  to  be  grown 
afterwards.  An  enormous  quantity  of  nitrogenous  organic  matter, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  left  in  the  land  after  the  removal  of  the  clover- 
crop  ;  and  these  remains  gradually  decay  and  furnish  ammonia, 
which  at  first  and  during  the  colder  months  of  the  year,  is  retained 
by  the  well  known  absorbing  properties  which  all  good  wheat- 
soils  possess.  In  spring,  when  warmer  weather  sets  in,  and  the 
wheat  begins  to  make  a  push,  these  ammonia  compounds  in  the  soil 
are  by  degrees  oxidized  into  nitrates ;  and  as  this  change  into  food 
peculiarly  favorable  to  young  cereal  plants,  proceeds  slowly 
but  steadily,  we  have  in  the  soil  itself,  after  clover,  a  source  from 
which  nitrates  are  continuously  produced ;  so  that  it  does  not  much 
affect  the  final  yield  of  wheat,  whether  heavy  rains  remove  some 
or  all  of  the  nitrate  present  in  the  soil.  The  clover  remains  thus 
afford  a  more  continuous  source  from  which  nitrates  are  produced, 
and  greater  certainty  for  a  good  crop  of  wheat  than,  when  recourse 
is  had  to  nitrogenous  top-dressings  in  the  spring. 

SUMMARY. 

"  The  following  are  some  of  the  chief  points  of  interest  which  I 
have  endeavored  fully  to  develope  in  the  preceding  pages : 
"  1.  A  good  crop  of  clover  removes  from  the  soil  more  potash, 


1GO  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

phosphoric  acid,  lime,  and  other  mineral  matters,  which  enter  into 
the  composition  of  the  ashes  of  our  cultivated  crops,  than  any  other 
crop  usually  grown  in  this  country. 

"  2.  Tuere  is  fully  three  times  as  much  nitrogen  in  a  crop  of 
clover  as  in  the  average  produce  of  the  grain  and  straw  of  wheat 
per  acre. 

"  3.  Notwithstanding  the  large  amount  of  nitrogenous  matter 
and  of  ash-constituents  of  plants,  in  the  produce  of  an  acre,  clover 
is  an  excellent  preparatory  crop  for  wheat. 

"  4.  During  the  growth  of  clover,  a  large  amount  of  nitrogenous 
matter  accumulates  in  the  soil. 

"  5.  This  accumulation,  which  is  greatest  in  the  surface  soil,  is 
due  to  decaying  leaves  dropped  during  the  growth  of  clover,  and 
to  an  abundance  of  roots,  containing,  when  dry,  from  one  and 
three-fourths  to  two  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

"  6.  The  clover-roots  are  stronger  and  more  numerous,  and  more 
leaves  fall  on  the  ground  when  clover  is  grown  for  seed,  than 
when  it  is  mown  for  hay ;  in  consequence,  more  nitrogen  is  left 
after  clover-seed,  than  after  hay,  which  accounts  for  wheat  yield- 
ing a  better  crop  after  clover-seed  than  after  hay. 

"  7.  The  development  of  roots  being  checked,  when  the  produce, 
in  a  green  condition,  is  fed  off  by  sheep,  in  all  probability,  leaves 
still  less  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  soil  than  when  clover  is 
allowed  to  get  riper  and  is  mown  for  hay ;  thus,  no  doubt,  account- 
ing for  the  observation  made  by  practical  men,  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  return  of  the  produce  in  the  sheep  excrements,  wheat  is 
generally  stronger,  and  yields  better,  after  clover  mown  for  hay, 
than  when  the  clover  is  fed  off  green  by  sheep. 

"  8.  The  nitrogenous  matters  in  the  clover  remains,  on  their 
gradual  decay,  are  finally  transformed  into  nitrates,  thus  affording 
a  continuous  source  of  food  on  which  cereal  crops  specially  delight 
to  grow. 

"  9.  There  is  strong  presumptive  evidence  that  the  nitrogen 
which  exists  in  the  air,  in  shape  of  ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  and 
descends,  in  these  combinations,  with  the  rain  which  falls  on  the 
ground,  satisfies,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  requirements 
of  the  cloveF-crop.  This  crop  causes  a  large  accumulation  of 
nitrogenous  matters,  which  are  gradually  changed  in  the  soil  into 
nitrates.  The  atmosphere  thus  furnishes  nitrogenous  food  to  the 
succeeding  wheat  indirectly,  and,  so  to  say,  gratis. 

"  10.  Clover  not  only  provides  abundance  of  nitrogenous  food, 
but  delivers  this  food  in  a  readily  available  form  (as  nitrates),  more 
gradually  and  continuously,  and,  consequently,  with  more  cer- 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVER-SOILS.  161 

tainty  of  a  good  result,  than  such  food  can  be  applied  to  the  land 
in  the  shape  of  nitrogenous  spring  top-dressings." 

"  Thank  you  Charley,"  s-rid  the  Doctor,  "  that  is  tlie  most  re- 
markable paper  I  ever  listened  to.  I  do  not  quite  know  what  to 
think  of  it.  We  shall  have  to  examine  it  carefully." 

"  The  first  three  propositions  in  the  Summary,"  said  I,  "  are  un- 
questionably true.  Proposition  No.  4,  is  equally  true,  but  we  must 
be  careful  what  meaning  we  attach  ton  he  word  '  accumulate.'  The 
idea  is,  that  clover  gathers  up  the  nitrogen  in  the  soil.  It  does  not 
increase  the  absolute  amount  of  nitrogen.  It  accumulates  it — brings 
it  together." 

"  Proposition  Ho.  5,  will  not  be  disputed  ;  and  I  think  we  may 
accept  No.  6,  also,  though  we  can  not  be  sure  that  allowing  clover 
to  go  to  seed,  had  anything  to  do  with  the  increased  quantity  of 
clover-roots." 

"  Proposition  No.  7,  may  or  may  not  be  true.  We  have  no 
proof,  only  a  *  probability ; '  and  the  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to 
propositions  Nos.  8,  9,  and  10." 

The  Deacon  seemed  uneasy.  He  did  not  like  these  remarks.  He 
had  got  the  impression,  while  Charley  was  reading,  that  much 
more  was  proved  than  Dr.  Vcelcker  claims  in  his  Summary. 

"  I  thought,"  said  he, 4<  that  on  the  part  of  the  field  where  the 
clover  was  allowed  to  go  to  seed,  Dr.  Yrelcker  found  a  great  in- 
crease in  the  amount  of  nitrogen." 

"  That  seems  to  be  the  general  impression,"  said  the  Doctor, "  but 
in  point  of  fact,  we  have  no  proof  that  the  growth  of  clover,  either 
for  hay  or  for  seed,  had  anything  to  do  with  the  quantity  of  nitro- 
gen and  phosphoric  acid  found  in  the  soil.  The  facts  given  by  Dr. 
Vcelcker,  are  exceedingly  interesting.  Let  us  look  at  them : " 

"A  field  of  11  acres  was  sown  to  winter- wheat,  and  seeded  down 
in  the  spring,  writh  12  Ibs.  per  acre  of  clover.  The  wheat  yielded 
40  bushels  per  acre.  The  next  year,  on  the  25th  of  June,  the 
clover  was  mown  for  hay.  We  are  told  that '  the  best  part  of  the 
field  yielded  three  tons  (6,720  Ibs.)  of  clover-hay  per  acre;  the 
whole  field  averaging  2£  tons  (5,600  Ibs.)  per  acre.'  " 

"  We  are  not  informed  how  much  land  there  was  of  the  *  best 
part,'  but  assuming  that  it  was  half  the  field,  the  poorer  part 
must  Have  yielded  only  4,480  Ibs.  of  hay  per  acre,  or  only  two- 
thirds  as  much  as  the  other.  This  shows  that  there  was  consider- 
able difference  in  the  quality  or  condition  of  the  land. 

"  After  the  field  was  mown  for  hay.it  was  divided  into  two  parts : 
one  part  was  mown  again  for  hay,  August  21st,  and  yielded  about 


162  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

30  cwt.  (3,300  Ibs.)  of  hay  per  acre ;  the  other  half  was  allowed  to 
grow  six  or  seven  weeks  longer,  and  was  then  (October  8th),  cut 
for  seed.  The  yield  was  a  little  over  5^  bushels  of  seed  per  acre. 
Whether  the  clover  allowed  to  grow  for  seed,  was  on  the  richer  or 
poorer  half  of  the  field,  we  are  not  informed. 

"  Dr.  Ycelcker  then  analyzed  tiie  soil.  That  from  the  part  of  the 
fijld  mown  twice  for  hay,  contained  per  acre: 

Fir.J  six  Second  six  Third  six  Total,  13. 

inches  inches.  inches.  inches  deep. 

Phosphoric  acid 4,950  2,725               3,575  11,250 

Nitrogen 3,350  1,875               1,3:35  6,550 

"The  soil  from  the  part  mown  once  for  hay,  and  tfien  for  seed, 
contained  per  acre : 

first  s'.x        Second  six        Third  six       Total,  18 
inches.  inches.  inches.        inches  deep. 

Phosphoric  acid 3,975  4,150  3,500  11,025 

Nitrogen 4,725  3,350  2/J25  10,300 

"  Dr.Vcelcker  also  ascertained  the  amount  Sind  composition  of  the 
clovcr-r0<?&  growing  in  the  soil  on  the  two  parts  of  the  field.  On 
the  ptrt  mown  twice  for  hay,  the  roots  contained  per  acre  24|lbs. 
of  nitrogen.  On  the  part  mown  once  for  hay,  and  then  for  seed, 
the  roots  contained  51i  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre." 

"  Now,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  these  facts  are  very  interesting,  but 
there  is  no  sort  of  evidence  tending  to  show  that  the  clover  has  any- 
thing to  do  with  increasing  or  decreasing  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  or 
phosphoric  acid  found  in  the  soil." 

"  There  was  more  clover-roots  per  acre,  where  the  clover  was 
allowed  to  go  to  seed.  But  that  may  be  because  the  soil  happened 
to  be  richer  on  this  part-ef  the  field.  There  was,  in  the  first  six 
inches  of  the  soil,  3,350  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acreron  one-half  of  the 
field,  and  4,725  Ibs.  on  the  other  half ;  and  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that  on  the  latter  half  there  should  be  a  greater  growth  of  clover 
and  clover-roots.  To  snpposo  that  during  the  six  or  seven  weeks 
while  the  clover  was  maturing  its  seed,  the  clover-plants  could 
accumulate  1,375  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  is  absurd." 

"But  Dr.  Vcelcker,"  said  the  Deacon,  "states,  and  states  truly, 
that  '  more  leaves  fall  on  the  ground  when  clover  is  grown  for 
seed,  than  when  it  is  mown  for  hay ;  and,  consequently,  more  nitro- 
gen is  left  after  clover-seed  than  after  hay,  which  accounts  for 
wheat  yielding  a  better  crop  after  clover-seed  than  after  hay.'  " 

"  This  is  all  true,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  we  can  not  accept  Dr. 
Vcelckcr's  analyses  as  proving  it.  To  account  in  this  way  for  the 
1,375  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  we  should  have  to  suppose  that  the  clover- 
plants,  in  going  to  s?ed,  slied  one  hundred  tons  of  dry  clover-leaves 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  163 

per  acre !  The  truth  of  the  matter  seems  to  be,  that  the  part  of  the 
field  on  which  the  clover  was  allowed  to  go  to  seed,  was  naturally 
much  richer  than  the  other  part,  and  consequently  produced  a 
greater  growth  of  clover  and  clover-roots." 

We  can  not  find  anything  in  these  experiments  tending  to  show 
that  we  can  make  land  rich  by  growing  clover  and  selling  the  crop. 
The  analyses  of  the  soil  show  that  in  the  first  eighteen  inches  of  the 
surface-soil,  there  was  6,550  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre,  on  one  part 
of  the  field,  and  10,300  Ibs.  on  the  other  part.  The  clover  did  not 
create  this  nitrogen,  or  bring  it  from  the  atmosphere.  The  wheat 
with  which  the  clover  was  seeded  down,  yielded  40  bushels  per 
acre.  If  the  field  had  been  sown  to  wheat  again,  it  probably  would 
not  have  yielded  over  25  bushels  per  acre — and  that  for  want  of 
available  nitrogen.  And  yet  the  clover  got  nitrogen  enough  for 
over  four  tons  of  clover-hay ;  or  as  much  nitrogen  as  a  crop  of 
wheat  of  125  bushels  per  acre,  and  7|  tons  of  straw  would  remove 
from  the  land. 

Now  what  does  this  prove  ?  There  was,  in  18  inches  of  the  soil 
on  the  poorest  part  of  tiie  field,  6,550  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre.  A 
crop  of  wheat  of  50  bushels  per  acre,  and  twice  that  weight  of 
straw,  would  require  about  92  Ibs.  of  nitrogen.  But  the  wheat  can 
not  get  this  amount  from  the  soil,  while  the  clover  can  get  double 
the  quantity.  And  the  only  explantion  I  can  give,  is,  that  the  clover- 
roots  can  take  up  nitrogen  from  a  weaker  solution  in  the  soil  than 
wheat-roots  can. 

"  These  experiments  of  Dr.  Ycelcker,"  sa:d  I,  "  give  me  great  en- 
couragement. Here  is  a  soil, '  originally  rather  unproductive,  but 
much  improved  by  deep  culture  ;  by  being  smashed  up  into  rough 
clods  early  in  autumn,  and  by  being  exposed  in  this  state  to  the 
crumbling  effects  of  the  air.'  It  now  produces  40  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre,  and  part  of  the  field  yielded  three  tons  of  clover-hay, 
per  acre,  the  first  cutting,  and  5$-  bushels  of  clover-seed  after- 
wards—and that  in  a  very  unfavorable  season  for  clover-seed." 


You  will  find  that  the  farmers  in  England  do  not  expect  to  make 
their  land  rich,  by  growing  clover  and  soiling  the  produce.  After 
they  have  got  their  land  rich,  by  good  cultivation,  and  the  liberal 
use  of  animal  and  artificial  manures,  th%  may  expect  a  good  crop 
of  wheat  from  the  roots  of  the  clover.  But  they  take  good  care  to 
feed  out  the  clover  itself  on  the  farm,  in  connection  with  turnips 
and  oil-cake,  and  thus  make  rich  manure. 


164 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


And  so  it  is  in  this  country.  Much  as  we  hear  about  the  value 
of  clover  for  manure,  even  those  who  extol  it  the  highest  do  not 
depend  upon  it  alone  for  bringing  up  and  maintaining  the  fertility 
of  their  farms.  The  men  who  raise  the  largest  crops  and  make  the 
most  money  by  farming,  do  not  sell  clover-hay.  They  do  not  look 
to  the  roots  of  the  clover  for  making  a  poor  soil  rich.  They  are, 
to  a  man,  good  cultivators.  They  work  their  land  thoroughly  and 
kill  the  weeds.  They  keep  good  stock,  and  feed  liberally,  and 
make  good  manure.  They  use  lime,  ashes,  and  plaster,  and  are 
glad  to  draw  manure  from  the  cities  and  villages,  and  muck  from 
the  swamps,  and  not  a  few  of  them  buy  artificial  manures.  In  the 
hands  of  such  farmers,  clover  is  a  grand  renovating  crop.  It 
gathers  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  roots  alone  of  a 
large  crop,  often  furnish  food  enough  for  a  good  crop  of  corn, 
potatoes,  or  wheat.  But  if  your  land  was  not  in  good  heart  to 
start  with,  you  would  not  get  the  large  crop  of  clover;  and  if  you 
depend  on  the  clover-roots  alone,  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
your  large  crops  of  clover  will  be  things  of  the  past. 

AMOUNT    OF    KOOTS    LEFT    IN    THE    SOIL    BY    DIFFERENT 

CROPS. 

"We  have  seen  that  Dr.  Vcelcker  made  four  separate  deter- 
minations of  the  amount  of  clover-roots  left  in  the  soil  to  the 
depth  of  six  inches.  It  may  be  well  to  tabulate  the  figures  obtained : 

CLOVER-ROOTS,   IN  SIX  INCHES  OF  SOIL,  PER  ACRE. 


Air-dry 
roots, 

Nitro 
gen  in 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid  in 

per 

roots, 

acre. 

acre. 

per 
acre. 

No.  1. 

£  f 
5  i  Good  Clover  from  brow  of  the  hill  

7705 

100 

-    2. 

^JBad         "        "       -  

"on 

3920 

31 

"    3. 

£  i  Good  Clover  from  bottom  of  the  field  

7569 

61 

27 

"    4. 

^  1  Thin       "         "     brow          "       hill.... 

80.4 

66 

3  I 

"    5. 

Heavy  crop  of  first-year  clover  mown  ^j^ice 

for  hay        

24$ 

"    6. 

Heavy  crop  of  first-year  clover,  mown  once 

51$ 

"    7. 

German  experimeut,  10J  inches  deep  

8921 

191* 

741 

I  have  not  much  confidence  in  experiments  of  this  kind.  It  is 
so  easy  to  make  a  little  mistake ;  and  when  you  take  only  a  square 
foot  of  land,  as  was  the  case  with  Nos.  5  and  6,  the  mistake  is  mul- 
tiplied by  43,560.  Still,  I  give  the  table  for  what  it  is  worth. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  165 

Nos.  1  and  2  are  from  a  one-year-old  crop  of  clover.  The  field 
was  a  calcareous  clay  soil.  It  was  somewhat  hilly  ;  or,  perhaps, 
what  we  here,  in  Western  New  York,  should  call  ''rolling  land." 
The  soil  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  "  was  very  stony  at  a  depth  of 
four  inches,  so  that  it  could  only  with  difficulty  be  excavated  to 
f  six  inches,  when  the  bare  limestone-rock  made  its  appearance." 

A  square  yard  was  selected  on  this  shallow  soil,  where  the  clover 
was  good  ;  and  the  roots,  air-dried,  weighed  at  the  rate  of  7,705  Ibs. 
per  acre,  and  contained  100  Ibs.  of  nitrogen.  A  few  yards  distance, 
on  the  same  soil,  where  the  clover  was  bad,  the  acre  of  roots  con- 
tained only  31  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre. 

So  far,  so  good.  We  can  well  understand  this  result.  Chemistry 
has  little  to  do  with  it.  There  was  a  good  stand  of  clover  on  the 
one  plot,  and  a  poor  one  on  the  other.  And  the  conclusion  to  be 
drawn  from  it  is,  that  it  is  well  worth  our  while  to  try  to  secure  *a 
good  catch  of  clover.  ' 

"But,  suppose,"  said  the  Doctor,  "No.  2  had  happened  to  have 
been  pastured  by  sheep,  and  No.  1  allowed  to  go  to  seed,  what 
magic  there  would  have  been  in  the  above  figures  !  " 

Nos.  3  and  4  are  from  the  same  field,  the  second  year.  No.  4  is 
from  a  square  yard  of  thin  clover  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and 
No.  3,  from  the  richer,  deeper  land  towards  the  bottom  of  the  hill. 

There  is  very  little  difference  between  them.  The  roots  of  thin 
clover  from  the  brow  of  the  hill,  contain  five  Ibs.  more  nitrogen 
per  acre,  than  the  roots  on  the  deeper  soil. 

If  we  can  depend  on  the  figures,  we  may  conclude  that  on  our 
poor  stony  "knolls,"  the  clover  has  larger  and  longer  roots  than 
on  the  richer  parts  of  the  fisld.  We  know  that  roots  will  run 
long  distances  and  great  depths  in  search  of  food  and  water. 

Nos.  5  and  6  are  from  a  heavy  crop  of  one-year-old  clover.  No. 
5  was  mown  twice  for  hay,  producing,  in  the  two  cuttings,  over 
four  tons  of  hay  per  acre.  No.  6  was  in  the  same  field,  the  only 
difference  being  that  the  clover,  instead  of  being  cut  the  second 
time  for  hay,  was  allowed  to  stand  a  few  weeks  longer  to  ripen  its 
seed.  You  will  see  that  the  latter  has  more  roots  than  the  former. 

There  are  24£  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre  in  the  one  case,  and  51£ 
Ibs.  in  the  other.  How  far  this  is  due  to  difference  in  the  condition 
of  the  land,  or  to  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  getting  out  all  the 
roots  from  the  square  yard,  is  a  matter  of  conjecture. 

Truth  to  tell,  I  have  very  little  confidence  in  any  of  these  figures. 
It  will  be  observed  that  I  have  put  at  the  bottom  of  the  table,  the 
result  of  an  examination  made  in  Germany.  In  this  case,  the  nitro- 
gen in  the  roots  of  an  acre  of  clover,  amounted  to  191£  Ibs.  per 


166 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


acre.  If  we  can  depend  on  the  figures,  we  must  conclude  that  there 
were  nearly  eight  times  as  much  clover-roots  per  acre  in  the  Ger- 
man field,  as  in  the  remarkably  heavy  crop  of  clover  in  the  English 
field  No.  5. 

'•  Yes,"  said  the  Deacon, "but  the  one  was  10J  inches  deep,  and 
the  other  only  six  inches  deep ;  and  besides,  the  German  experi- 
ment includes  the  '  stubble  '  with  the  roots." 

The  Deacon  is  right ;  and  it  will  be  well  to  give  the  complete 
table,  as  published  in  the  American  Agriculturist : 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  AMOUNT  OF  ROOTS  AND  STUBBLE  LEFT  PER  ACRE  BY  DIFFER- 
ENT CROPS,  AND  THE  AMOUNT  OF  INGREDIENTS  WHICH  THEY  CONTAIN  PER  ACRE. 


^liJs 

b! 

kffj 

* 

J||tl 

i|i 

tiff 

wU" 

^ 

sir 

Lucern  (4  years  old)  

9678  1 

1364 

1  201  6 

Red-Clover  (1  year  old)  

8  921  6 

191  6 

1  919  9 

E*parsette  (  3  years  old) 

5  930  9 

123  2 

Rye  

5,264.6 

653 

1,747.8 

Swedish  Clover 

5  004  3 

102  3 

974  6 

Ra~,e 

4  477 

56  5 

6223 

Oats 

3  331  9 

26  6 

1  444  7 

Lupine                                           

3  520  9 

62  2 

'550 

Wheat        

3  476 

23  5 

1  089  8 

Peas 

3  222  5 

55  6 

670  7 

Serradella         

3  120  1 

648 

5456 

Buckwheat    .  . 

2  19  3  6 

47  9 

465  5 

Barley  

1.991  4 

22.8 

391.1 

CONTENTS  OP  THE  ASHES,  IN  POUNDS,  PER  ACR3. 


| 

1 

Potash. 

| 

ii 

H 

Lucern  

197.7 

24.2 

36.7 

26.4 

18.7 

38.5 

Red-Clover 

2(52  9 

48.4 

E8  3 

200 

26.1 

748 

Esparsette  .  .  . 

1328 

287 

42.6 

13.8 

20.6 

29.7 

Rye  

73.2 

14.3 

31.2 

4^.3 

11.8 

24.4 

Swedish  Clover 

136.1 

17.6 

25.9 

5.7 

10.2 

24.2 

Rape 

163  9 

12.9 

34.7 

20.9 

30.8 

31.9 

Oats  

85.5 

11.2 

24.8 

18. 

8.8 

29. 

Lupine 

805 

11.2 

165 

3.5 

7. 

13.8 

Wheat  

76.7 

10.1 

28.4 

11. 

7.4 

11.8 

Peas 

71  7 

11. 

11.2 

7. 

9.4 

14.3 

Serradella  

79.8 

13.4 

8.8 

4.8 

9. 

"8.4 

Buckwheat 

80 

7.2 

8.8 

42 

6.6 

11. 

Barley  

42.2 

5.5 

9.5 

3.5 

5.5 

11.8 

It  may  be  presumed,  that,  while  these  figures  are  not  absolutely, 
they  are  relatively,  correct.  In  other  words,  we  may  conclude, 
that  red-clover  leaves  more  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash, 
in  the  roots  and  stubble  per  acre,  than  any  other  of  the  crops  named. 


EXPEKIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  167 

The  gross  amount  of  dry  substance  in  the  roots,  and  the  gross 
amount  of  ash  per  acre,  are  considerably  exaggerated,  owing  to  the 
evidently  large  quantity  of  dirt  attached  to  the  roots  and  stubble. 
For  instance,  the  gross  amount  of  ash  in  Lucern  is  given  as  1,201.6 
Ibs.  per  acre ;  while  the  total  amount  of  lime,  magnesia,  potash, 
soda,  sulphuric  and  phosphoric  acids,  is  only  342.2  Ibs.  per  acre, 
leaving  859.4  Ibs.  as  .sand,  clay,  iron,  etc.  Of  the  1,919.9  Ibs.  of  ash 
in  the  acre  of  clover-roots  and  stubble,  there  are  1,429.4  Ibs.  of 
sand,  clay,  etc.  But  even  after  deducting  this  amount  of  impuri- 
ties from  a  gross  total  of  dry  matter  per  acre,  we  still  have  7,492.2 
Ibs.  of  dry  roots  and  stubble  per  acre,  or  nearly  3£  tons  of  dry  roots 
per  acre.  This  is  a  very  large  quantity.  It  is  as  much  dry  matter 
as  is  contained  in  13  tons  of  ordinary  farm-yard,  or  stable-manure. 
And  thcsa  3i  tons  of  dry  clover-roots  contain  191|  Ibs.  of  nitrogen, 
which  is  as  much  as  is  contained  in  19  tons  of  ordinary  stable-ma- 
nure. The  clover- roots  also  contain  742-  Ibs.  of  phosphoric  acid  per 
acre,  or  as  much  us  is  contained  in  from  500  to  600  Ibs.  of  No.  1 
rectified  Peruvian  guano. 

"  But  the  phosphoric  acid,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  not  soluble  in 
the  roots."  True,  but  it  was  soluble  when  the  roots  gathered  it 
up  out  of  the  soil. 

"  These  figures,"  said  the  Deacon,  u  have  a  very  pleasant  look. 
Those  of  us  who  have  nearly  one-quarter  of  our  land  in  clover 
every  year,  ought  to  be  making  our  farms  very  rich." 

"  It  would  seem,  at  any  rate,"  said  I,  "  that  those  of  us  who  have 
good,  clean,  well-drained,  and  well-worked  land,  thai  is  now  pro- 
ducing a  goocl  growth  of  clover,  may  reasonably  expect  a  fair  crop 
of  wheat,  barley,  oats,  corn,  or  potatoes,  when  we  break  it  up  and 
plow  under  all  the  roots,  which  are  equal  to  13  or  19  tons  of  stable- 
manure  per  acre.  Whether  we  can  or  can  not  depend  on  these 
figures,  one  thing  is  clearly  proven,  both  by  the  chemist  and  the 
farmer,  that  a  good  clover-sod,  on  well-worked  soil,  is  a  good  pre- 
paration for  corn  and  potatoes." 

MANURES    FOR   WHEAT. 

Probably  nine-tenths  of  all  the  wheat  grown  in  Western  New 
York,  or  the  "  Genesee  country,"  from  the  time  the  land  was  first 
cleared  until  1870,  was  raised  without  any  manure  being  directly  ap- 
plied to  the  land  for  this  crop.  Tillage  and  clover  were  what  the 
farmers  depended  on.  There  certainly  has  been  no  systematic  ma- 
nuring. The  manure  made  during  the  winter,  was  drawn  out  in  the 
spring,  and  plowed  under  for  corn.  Any  manure  made  during  the 
summer,  in  the  yards,  was,  by  the  best  farmers,  scraped  up  and 


108  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

spread  on  portions  of  the  land  sown,  or  to  be  sown,  with  wheat 
Even  so  good  a  farmer  and  wheat-grower  as  John  Johnston, 
rarely  used  manure,  (except  lime,  and  latterly,  a  Jittle  guano), 
directly  for  wheat.  Clover  and  summer-fallowing  were  for  many 
years  the  dependence  of  the  Western  New  York  wheat-growers. 

"  One  of  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  millers  of  Western  New 
York,"  remarked  the  Doctor,  "  once  told  me  that '  ever  since  our 
farmers  began  to  manure  their  land,  the  wheat-crop  had  deterio- 
rated, not  only  in  the  yield  per  acre,  but  in  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  the  flour  obtained  from  it.'  It  seemed  a  strange  remark  to  make ; 
but  when  he  explained  that  the  farmers  had  given  up  summer- 
fallowing  and  plowing  in  clover,  and  now  sow  spring  crops,  to 
be  followed  by  winter  wheat  with  an  occasional  dressing  of  poor 
manure,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  it  may  be  true." 

"Yes,"  said  I,  "it  is  not  the  manure  that  hurts  the  wheat,  but 
the  growth  of  spring  crops  and  weeds  that  rob  the  soil  of  far  more 
plant-food  than  the  poor,  strawy  manure  can  supply.  We  do  not 
now,  really,  furnish  the  wheat-crop  as  much  manure  or  plant-food 
as  we  formerly  did  when  little  or  no  manure  was  used,  and  when 
we  depended  on  summer-fallowing  and  plowing  in  clover." 

We  must  either  give  up  the  practice  of  sowing  a  spring  crop, 
before  wheat,  or  we  must  make  more  and  richer  manure,  or  we  must 
plow  in  more  clover.  The  rotation,  which  many  of  us  now  adopt 
— corn,  barley,  wheat— is  profitable,  provided  we  can  make  our 
land  rich  enough  to  produce  75  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  50  bushels 
of  barley,  and  35  bushels  of  wheat,  per  acre,  in  three  years. 

This  can  be  done,  but  we  shall  either  require  a  number  of  acres 
of  rich  low  land,  or  irrigated  meadow,  the  produce  of  which  will 
make  manure  for  the  upland,  or  we  shall  have  to  purchase  oil- 
cake, bran,  malt-combs,  or  refuse  beans,  to  feed  out  with  our  straw 
and  clover-hay,  or  we  must  purchase  artificial  manures.  Unless 
this  is  done,  we  must  summer-fallow  more,  on  the  heavier  clay 
soils,  sow  less  oats  and  barley ;  or  we  must,  on  the  lighter  soils, 
raise  and  plow  under  more  clover,  or  feed  it  out  on  the  tarm,  being 
careful  to  save  and  apply  the  manure. 

41  Batter  do  both,"  said  the  Doctor." 

"  How  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

"  You  had  better  make  all  the  manure  you  can,"  continued  the 
Doctor,  "  and  buy  artificial  manures  besides." 

"  The  Doctor  is  right,"  said  I,  "  and  in  point  of  fact,  our  best 
farmers  are  doing  this  very  thing.  They  are  making  more  manure 
and  buying  more  manure  than  ever  before ;  or,  to  state  the  matter 
correctly,  they  are  buying  artificial  manures ;  and  these  increase  the 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVER-SOILS.  169 

crops,  and  the  extra  quantity  of  straw,  corn,  and  clover,  so  ob- 
tained, enables  them  to  make  more  manure.  They  get  cheated 
sometimes  in  their  purchases ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  movement  is  a 
good  one,  and  will  result  in  a  higher  and  better  system  of  farming." 

1  am  amused  at  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  manifested  by  some 
of  our  farmers  who  have  used  artificial  manures  for  a  year  or  two. 
They  seem  to  regard  me  as  a  sad  old  fogy,  because  I  am  now  de- 
pending almost  entirely  on  the  manures  made  on  the  farm.  Years 
ago,  1  was  laughed  at  because  I  used  guano  and  superphosphate.  It 
was  only  yesterday,  that  a  young  farmer,  who  is  the  local  agent  of 
this  neighborhood,  for  a  manure  manufacturer,  remarked  to  me, 
"  You  have  never  used  superphosphate.  We  sowed  it  on  our  wheat 
last  year,  and  could  see  to  the  very  drill  mark  how  far  it  went.  I 
would  like  to  tako  your  order  for  a  ton.  I  am  sure  it  would  pay." 

"  We  are  making  manure  cheaper  than  you  can  sell  it  to  me,  "  I 
replied,  "  and  besides,  I  do  not  think  superphosphate  is  a  good 
manure  for  wheat."  — "  Oh,"  he  exclaimed, u  you  would  not  say  so 
if  you  had  ever  used  it." — "  Why,  my  dear  sir,"  said  I,  "  I  made 
tons  of  superphosphate,  and  used  large  quantities  of  guano  before 
you  were  born ;  and  if  you  will  come  into  the  house,  I  will  show 
you  a  silver  goblet  I  got  for  a  prize  essay  on  the  use  of  superphos- 
phate of  lime,  that  I  wrote  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  I 
sent  to  New  York  for  two  tons  of  guano,  and  published  the  result 
of  its  uso  on  this  farm,  before  you  were  out  of  your  cradle.  And  I 
had  a  ton  or  more  of  superphosphate  made  for  me  in  1856,  and  some 
before  that.  I  have  also  used  on  this  farm,  many  tons  of  superphos- 
phate and  other  artificial  manures  from  different  .manufacturers, 
and  one  year  I  used  15  tons  of  bone-dust." 

With  ready  tact,  he  turned  the  tables  on  me  by  saying :  "  Now  I 
can  understand  why  your  land  is  improving.  It  is  because  you 
have  used  superphosphate  and  bone-dust.  Order  a  few  tons." 

By  employing  agents  of  this  kind,  the  manufacturers  have  suc- 
ceeded in  selling  the  farmers  of  Western  New  York  thousands  of 
tons  of  superphosphate.  Some  fanners  think  it  pays,  and  some 
that  it  does  not.  We  are  more  likely  to  hear  of  the  successes  than 
of  failures.  Still  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  superphosphate 
has,  in  many  instances,  proved  a  valuable  and  profitable  manure 
for  wheat  in  Western  New  York. 

From  200  to  300  Ibs.  are  used  per  acre,  and  the  evidence  seems 
to  show  that  it  is  far  better  to  drill  in  the  manure  with  the  seed  than 
to  sow  it  broadcast. 

My  own  opinion  is,  that  these  superphosphates  are  not  the  most 


170  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

economical  artificial  manures  that  could  be  used  for  wheat.  They 
contain  too  little  nitrogen.  Peruvian  guano  containing  nitrogen 
equal  to  10  per  cent  of  ammonia,  would  be,  I  think,  a  much  more 
effective  and  profitable  manure.  But  before  we  discuss  this  ques- 
tion, it  will  be  necessary  to  study  the  results  of  actual  experiments 
in  the  use  of  various  fertilizers  for  wheat. 


CHAPTER      XXVII. 
LA  WES  AND   GILBERT'S  EXPERIMENTS  ON  WHEAT. 

I  hardly  know  how  to  commence  an  account  of  the  wonderful 
experiments  made  at  Rothamsted,  England,  by  John  Bennett 
Lawes,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  Joseph  H.  Gilbert.  Mr.  Lawes'  first  syste- 
matic experiment  on  wheat,  commenced  in  the  autumn  of  1843. 
A  field  of  14  acres  of  rather  heavy  clay  soil,  resting  on  chalk,  was 
selected  for  the  purpose.  Nineteen  plots  were  accurately  measured 
and  staked  off.  The  plots  ran  the  long  way  of  the  field,  and  up  a 
slight  ascent.  On  each  side  of  the  field,  alongside  the  plots,  there 
was  some  land  not  included,  the  first  year,  in  the  experiment  proper. 
This  land  was  either  left  without  manure,  or  a  mixture  of  the 
manures  used  in  the  experiments  was  sown  on  it. 

I  have  heard  it  said  that  Mr.  Lawes,  at  this  time,  was  a  believer 
in  what  was  called  "Liebig's  Mineral  Manure  Theory."  Licbig 
had  said  that  "  The  crops  on  a  field,  diminish  or  increase  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  diminution  or  increase  of  the  mineral  substances 
conveyed  to  it  in  manure."  And  enthusiastic  gentlemen  have  been 
known  to  tell  farmers  who  were  engaged  in  drawing  out  farm-yard 
manure  to  their  land,  that  they  were  wasting  their  strength ;  all 
they  needed  was  the  mineral  elements  of  the  manure.  "  And 
you  might,"  they  said, "  burn  your  manure,  and  sow  the  ashes,  and 
thus  save  much  time  and  labor.  The  ashes  will  do  just  as  much 
good  as  the  manure  itself." 

Whether  Mr.  Lawes  did,  or  did  not  entertain  such  an  opinion,  I 
do  not  know.  It  looks  as  though  the  experiments  the  first  year  or 
two,  were  made  with  the  expectation  that  mineral  manures,  or  the 
ashes  of  plants,  were  what  the  wheat  needed. 

The  following  table  gives  the  kind  and  quantities  of  manures 
used  per  acre,  and  the  yield  of  wheat  per  acre,  as  carefully  cleaned 
for  market.  Also  the  total  weight  of  grain  per  acre,  and  the 
•weight  of  straw  and  chaff  per  acre. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 


171 


I  8£ 


Ptotg. 


ooooo- 


Farmyard 
Manure. 


Farmyard 
Manure 
Ashes. l 


Silicate  of 
Potass.- 

Phosphate 
of  Potass*3 


B—  - 


—    Phosnhate 


233S:  ::  J:  :::*::::::  *g\<FSRS? 


g;.    wtr 


Phosptutte 
of 

Magnesia* 

Superphos- 
phate of 

Lime^_ 

1_|    Sulphate 

«  *  I  Ammoniac 


S:   i* 


Raps  CaJ:e 


.    i-i  caoa  *oco  w  •-'  tso  *-»  KS  -5 


GO  obsbi  bio  in  inao  b  is  is 


i  o  I-'  w      n  • 


Weight 
P^ 

'H/ti 

rat 


per 
Kuslid. 


i  •:••  ••  •• 

S     §. 


Straiv 


172  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

These  were  the  results  of  the  harvest  of  1844.  The  first  year  of 
taese  since  celebrated  experiments. 

If  Mr.  Lawes  expected  that  the  crops  would  be  in  proportion  to 
the  minerals  supplied  in  the  manure,  he  must  have  been  greatly 
disappointed.  The  plot  without  manure  of  any  kind,  gave  15 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre;  700  Ib&.  of  superphosphate  of  lime, 
mada  from  burnt  bones,  produced  only  33  Ibs.  or  about  half  a 
bushel  more  grain  per  acre,  and  4  Ibs.  less  straw  than  was  obtained 
without  manure.  640  Ibs.  of  superphosphate,  and  65  Ibs.  of  com- 
mercial sulphate  of  ammonia  (equal  to  about  14  Ibs.  of  ammonia), 
gave  a  little  over  19 £  bushels  of  dressed  wheat  per  acre.  As  com- 
pared with  the  plot  having  700  Ibs.  of  superphosphate  per  acre,  this 
14  Ibs.  of  available  ammonia  per  acre,  or,  say  11^  Ibs.  nitrogen, 
gave  an  increase  of  324  Ibs.  of  grain,  and  252  Ibs.  of  straw,  or  a 
total  increase  of  576  Ibs.  of  grain -and  straw. 

On  plot  No.  19,  81  Ibs.  of  sulphate  ammonia,  with  minerals,  pro- 
duces 24£  bushels  per  acre.  This  yield  is  clearly  due  to  the  am- 
monia. 

The  rape-cake  contains  about  5  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  and  is  also 
rich  in  minerals  and  carbonaceous  matter.  It  gives  an  increase,  but 
not  as  large  in  proportion  to  the  nitrogen  furnished,  as  the  sul- 
phate of  ammonia.  And  the  same  remarks  apply  to  the  14  tons 
of  farm-yard  manure. 

We  should  have  expected  a  greater  increase  from  such  a  liberal 
dressing  of  barn-yard  manure.  I  think  the  explanation  is  this: 

transparent  glass,  slightly  deliquescent  in  the  air,  which  was  ground  to  a  pow- 
der under  edge-stones. 

3  The  manures  termed  superphosphate  of  lime,  phosphate  of  potass,  phosphate 
of  soda,  and  phosphate  of  magnesia,  were  made  by  acting  upon  bons-ash  by 
means  of  sulphuric  acid  in  the  first  instance,  and  in  the  case-  of  the  alkali  salts 
and  the  magnesian  one  neutralizing  the  compound  thus  obtained  by  means  of 
cheap  preparations  of  the  respective  bases.  For  the  superphosphate  of  lime, 
the  proportions  were  5  parts  bone-ash,  3  parts  water,  and  3  parts  sulphuric  acid 
of  sp.  gr.  1.84;  and  for  the  phosphates  of  potass,  soda,  and  magnesia,  they 
were  4  parts  bone-ash,  water  as  needed,  3  parts  sulphuric  acid  of  sp.  gr.  1.84,  and 
equivalent  amounts,  respectively,  of  pearl-ash,  soda-ash,  or  a  mixture  of  1 
part  medicinal  carbonate;  of  magnesia,  and  4  parts  magnesian  limestone.  The 
mixtures,  of  course,  all  lost  weight  considerably  by  the  evolution  of  water  and 
carbonic  acid. 

*  Made  with  unburnt  bones. 

8  In  this  first  season,  neither  the  weight  nor  the  measure  of  the  offal  corn  was 
recorded  separately  ;  and  in  former  papers,  the  bushels  and  pecks  of  total  corn 
(including  offal)  have  erroneously  been  given  as  dressed  corn.  To  bring  the 
records  more  in  conformity  with  those  relating  to  the  other  years.  5  per  cent, 
by  weight,  has  been  deductod  from  the  total  corn  previously  stated  as  dressed 
corn,  and  is  recorded  as  offal  corn  ;  this  being  about  the  probable  proportion, 
judging  from  the  character  of  the  season,  the  bulk  of  the  crop,  and  the  weight 
per  bushel  of  the  dressed  corn.  Although  not  strictly  correct,  the  statements  of 
dressrd  corn,  as  amended  in  this  somewhat  arbitrary  way,  will  approximate 
more  nearly  to  the  truth,  and  be  more  comparable  with  those  relating  to  other 
seasons,  than  those  hitherto  recorded. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  173 

The  manure  had  not  been  piled.  It  was  probably  taken  out 
fresh  from  the  yard  (this,  at  any  rate,  was  the  case  when  I  was  at 
Rothanisted),  and  plowed  under  late  in  the  season.  And  on  this 
heavy  land,  manure  will  lie  buried  in  the  soil  for  months,  or,  if  un- 
disturbed, for  years,  without  decomposition.  In  other  words,  while 
this  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure,  contained  at  least  150  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen,  and  a  large  quantity  of  minerals  and  carbonaceous 
matter,  it  did  not  produce  a  bushel  per  acre  more  than  a  manure 
containing  less  than  12  Ibs.  of  nitrogen.  And  on  plot  19,  a  manure 
containing  less  than  15  Ibs.  of  available  nitrogen,  produced  nearly 
4  bushels  per  acre  more  wheat  than  the  barn-yard  manure  contain- 
ing at  least  ten  times  as  much  nitrogen. 

There  can  be  but  one  explanation  of  this  fact.  The  nitrogen  in 
the  manure  lay  dormant  in  this  heavy  soil.  Had  it  been  a  light 
sandy  soil,  it  would  have  decomposed  more  rapidly  and  produced 
a  better  effect. 

As  we  have  before  stated,  John  Johnston  finds,  on  his  clay-land, 
a  far  greater  effect  from  manure  spread  on  the  surface,  where  it 
decomposes  rapidly,  than  when  the  manure  is  plowed  under. 

The  Deacon  was  looking  at  the  figures  in  the  table,  and  not  pay- 
ing much  attention  to  our  talk.  "  What  could  a  man  be  thinking 
about,"  he  said,  "  to  burn  14  tons  of  good  manure  !  It  was  a  great 
waste,  and  I  am  glad  the  ashes  did  no  sort  of  good." 

After  the  wheat  was  harvested  in  1844,  the  land  was  immedi- 
ately plowed,  harrowed,  etc.  ;  and  in  a  few  weeks  was  plowed 
again  and  sown  to  wheat,  the  different  plots  being  kept  separate, 
as  before. 

The  following  table  shows  the  manures  used  this  second  year, 
and  the  yield  per  acre : 


174 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


jj       to  w  *o  i-i 

g      '  <oi-*o;o 


00  -3  O5  Ol  £k  OS  JO  i-"-  O  5O  00  -5  OJ      * 


Plots. 


pS£: 


:a? 


fl 


a; 

0>   p 


Farmyard 
Manure. 


Silicate  of 
Potass. 1 


Potass.'* 


•  s  I  ti  rplcosphte 
'S|    of  Lime* 


g,^    Bone-ash. 


±;  •  Muria'ic 
»  I    ^dd. 


1=5  I  Sulphate  of 
•  o  5°  I    Ammonta. 


=f  =i  I  Muriate  of 
*  7>    Ammonia. 


g    Carbonate  of 
Ammonia. 


§•    -ffa^e  (7afce. 


g*  I  Tapioca. 


oo  OT  oo  Co  w  w  oo  oo  o  w  b 


ao  co  w  o  u>  oo  ao  w ."  I    Bushel. 

6>^a^  Corn. 


? 


2Wa/  Cbrn.: 


-Sifrow  <md 
Chaff. 

~Tota'Pr<h\ 
duee  (Corn  \ 
and  Straw). ' 


5? 


_i  is  «  •-*   e  a 


us  09  io  is  is  ^  x>  —  t*.  -••  —  -  —  > 


(Tzfa^  <70m  to  10J 


Corn  V>  jtj 
Straw. 


EXPERIMENTS    OX    WHEAT.  175 

The  season  of  1845  was  more  favorable  for  wheat,  than  that  of 
1844,  and  the  crops  on  all  the  plots  were  better.  On  plot  No.  3, 
which  had  no  manure  last  year,  or  this,  the  yield  is  23  bushels  per 
acre,  against  15  bushels  last  year. 

Last  year,  the  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  gave  an  increase  of 
only  5J  bushels  per  acre.  This  year  it  gives  an  increase  of  nearly 
9  bushels  per  acre. 

"  Do  you  mean,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  this  plot,  No.  2,  had 
14  tons  of  manure  in  1844,  and  14  tons  of  manure  again  in  1845  ?  " 

"  Precisely  that,  Deacon,"  said  1,  •'  and  this  same  plot  has  receiv- 
ed this  amount  of  manure  every  year  since,  up  to  the  present  time 
— for  these  same  experiments  are  still  continued  from  year  to  year 
at  Rothamsted." 

"  It  is  poor  farming,"  said  the  Deacon,  ''and  I  should  think  the 
land  would  get  too  rich  to  grow  wheat." 

"It  is  not  so,"  said  I,  "and  the  fact  is  an  interesting  one,  and 
teaches  a  most  important  lesson,  of  whicn,  more  hereafter." 

Plot  5,  last  year,  received  700  Ibs.  of  superphosphate  per  acre. 
This  year,  this  plot  was  divided  ;  one  half  was  left  without  ma« 
nure,  and  the  other  dressed  with  252  Ibs.  of  pure  carbonate  of 
ammonia  per  acre.  The  half  without  manure,  (5#),  did  not  pro- 
duce quite  as  much  grain  and  straw  as  the  plot  which  had  received 
no  manure  for  two  years  in  succession.  But  the  wheat  was  of 
better  quality,  weighing  1  Ib.  more  per  bushel  than  the  other. 
Still  it  is  sufficiently  evident  that  superphosphate  of  lime  did  no 
good  so  far  as  increasing  the  growth  was  concerned,  either  the  first 
year  it  was  applied,  or  the  year  following. 

The  carbonate  of  ammonia  was  dissolved  in  water  and  sprinkled 
over  the  growing  wheat  at  three  different  times  during  the  spring. 
You  see  this  manure,  which  contains  no  mineral  matter  at  all,  gives 
an  increase  of  nearly  4  bushels  of  grain  per  acre,  and  an  increase 
of  887  Ibs.  of  straw. 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  is  not  887  Ibs.  of  straw  to 

3  The  manures  termed  superphosphate  of  lime  and  phosnhate  of  potass,  wore 
made  by  acting  upon  bone-ash  by  means  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  in  the  ca-e  of 
the  potass  salt  neutralizing  the  compound  thus  obtained,  by  means  of  pearl-ash. 
For  the  su^erphoshate  of  lime,  tlie  proportions  were,  5  parts  bone-ash.  3  parts 
water,  and  3  parts  sulphuric  acid  of  sp.  gr.  1.84 :  and  for  the  phosphate  of  potass, 
4  parts  bone  ash.  water  as  needed,  3  parts  sulphuric  acid  of  sp.  gr.  1.84;  and  an 
equivalent  amount  of  pearl-ash.  The  mixtures,  of  course,  lost  weight  consider- 
ably by  the  evolution  of  water  and  carbonic  acid. 

3  The  medicinal  carbonate  of  ammonia ;  it  was  dissolved  in  water  and  top- 
dressed. 

4  Plot  5.  was  2  lands  wide  (in  after  years,  respectively,  5a  and  5ft) :  51  con  ist- 
ing  of  2  alternate  one-fourth  lengths  across  both  lands,  and  52  of  the  2  remain- 
ing one-fourth  lengths. 

6  Top-dressed  at  once.    8  Top-dressed  at  4  intervale.    T  Peruvian.    8  Ichaboe. 


176  TALKS   OX   MANURES. 

4  bushels  of  grain  an  unusually  large  proportion  of  straw  to  grain  ? 
I  have  heard  you  say  that  100  Ibs.  of  straw  to  each  bushel  of 
wheat  is  about  the.average.  And  according  to  this  experiment, 
the  carbonate  of  ;.nimoni;i  produced  over  200  Ibs.  of  straw  to  a 
bushel  of  grain.  How  do  you  account  for  this." 

"  It  is  a  general  rule,"  said  1,  "that  the  heavier  the  crop,  the 
greater  is  the  proportion  of  straw  to  grain.  On  the  no-manure 
plot,  we  have,  this  year,  118  Ibs.  of  straw  to  a  bushel  of  dressed 
grain.  Taking  this  as  the  standard,  you  will  find  that  the  increase 
from  manures  is  proportionally  greater  in  straw  than  in  grain. 
Thus  in  the  increase  of  barn-yard  manure,  this  year,  we  have 
about  133  Ibs.  of  straw  to  a  bushel  of  grain.  I  do  not  believe  there 
is  any  manure  that  will  give  us  a  large  crop  of  grain  without  a 
still  larger  crop  of  straw.  There  is  considerable  difference,  in  this 
respect,  between  different  varieties  of  wheat.  Still,  I  like  to  see  a 
good  growth  of  straw." 

"It  is  curious,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  3  cwt.  of  ammonia-salts 
alone  on  plots  9  and  10  should  produce  as  much  wheat  as  was 
obtained  from  plot  2,  where  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  had  been 
applied  two  years  in  succession.  I  notice  that  on  one  plot,  the 
ammonia-salts  were  applied  at  once,  in  the  spring,  while  on  the 
other  plot  they  were  sown  at  four  different  times — and  that  the 
former  gave  the  best  results." 

The  only  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this,  is,  that  it  is  desirable 
to  apply  the  manure  early  in  the  spring— or  better  still,  in  the 
autumn. 

"  You  are  a  great  advocate  of  Peruvian  guano,"  said  the  Deacon, 
"and  yet  3  cwt  of  Peruvian  guano  on  Plot  13,  only  produced  an 
increase  of  two  bushels  and  643  Ibs.  of  straw  per  acre.  The  guano 
at  $60  per  ton,  would  cost  $9.00  per  acre.  This  will  not  pay." 

This  is  an  unusually  small  increase.  The  reason,  probably,  is  to 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  manure  and  seed  were  not  sown  until 
March,  instead  of  in  the  autumn.  The  salts  of  ammonia  are  quite 
soluble  and  act  quickly  ;  while  the  Peruvian  guano  has  to  decom- 
pose in  the  soil,  and  consequently  needs  to  be  applied  earlier, 
especially  on  clay  land. 

** I  do  not  want  you,"  said  the  Deacon,  "to  dodge  the  question 
why  an  application  of  14  tons  of  farmyard-manure  per  acre,  every 
year  for  over  thirty  years,  does  not  make  the  land  too  rich  for 
wheat." 

"  Possibly,"  said  I,  "  on  light,  sandy  soil,  such  an  annual  dressing 
of  manure  would  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  make  the  land  too 


EXPERIMENTS    OX   WHEAT.  17? 

rich  for  wheat.  But  on  a  clayey  soil,  such  is  evidently  not  the  case. 
And  tue  fact  is  a  very  important  one.  When  we  apply  manure, 
our  object  should  be  to  make  it  as  available  as  possible.  Nature 
preserves  or  conserves  the  food  of  plants.  The  object  of  agricul- 
ture is  to  use  the  food  of  plants  for  our  own  advantage. 

"Please  be  a  little  more  definite,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  for  I  must 
confess  I  do  not  quite  see  the  significance  of  your  remarks." 

"  What  he  means,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  this :  If  you  put  a  quan- 
tity of  soluble  and  available  manure  on  land,  and  do  not  sow  any 
crop,  the  manure  will  not  be  wasted.  The  soil  will  retain  it.  It 
will  change  it  from  a  soluble  into  a  comparatively  insoluble  form. 
Had  a  crop  been  sown  the  first  year,  the  manure  would  do  far  more 
good  than  it  will  the  next  year,  and  yet  it  may  be  that  none  of  the 
manure  is  lost.  It  is  merely  locked  up  in  the  soil  in  such  a  form 
as  will  prevent  it  from  running  to  waste.  If  it  was  not  for  this 
principle,  our  lands  would  have  been  long  ago  exhausted  of  all 
their  available  plant-food." 

"  I  think  I  understand,"  said  the  Deacon ;  "  but  if  what  you  say 
is  true,  it  upsets  many  of  our  old  notions.  We  have  thought  it  de- 
sirable to  plow  under  manure,  in  order  to  prevent  the  ammonia 
from  escaping.  You  claim,  I  believe,  that  there  is  little  danger  of 
any  loss  from  spreading  manure  on  the  surface,  and  I  suppose  you 
would  have  us  conclude  that  we  make  a  mistake  in  plowing  it 
under,  as  the  soil  renders  it  insoluble." 

"  It  depends  a  good  deal,"  said  I,  "  on  the  character  of  the  soil. 
A  light,  sandy  soil  will  not  preserve  manure  like  a  clay  soil.  But 
it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  our  aim  in  all  cases  should  be  to  apply 
manure  in  such  a  form  and  to  such  a  crop  as  will  give  us  the  great- 
est immediate  benefit.  Plowing  under  fresh  manure  every  year  for 
wheat  is  evidently  not  the  best  way  to  get  the  greatest  benefit  from 
it.  But  this  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  this  matter.  Let  us  look 
at  the  result  of  Mr.  Lawes'  experiments  on  wheat  the  third  year : " 


178  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

EXPEIUMSNTS   AT   KOTHAMSTED   ON    THE   GROWTH   OF 
TABLE     III.— MANURES     AND    PRODUCE;     3RD    SEASON,     1845-6. 


1 

MANURES  PER  ACRE. 

Farmyard  Ma- 
nure. 

Ash  from  3 
toads  (3,  888  16s.) 
wheat-straw. 

Liebifs  Wheat- 
manure. 

i  $ 

fiji 

<S  8 

1 

I 

Magnesian 
Lime-stone. 

Superphosphate 
of  Lime. 

i  *&?* 

.         'J^rl     S'W 

§  ts^ii^ 

^  ^^M^ 

Sulphate  of  Am- 
monia. 
Muriate  of  Am- 
monia. 

<i 

0 

1 

2 
3 

4 

..{! 

2« 

66 
7a 
76 

8a 
86 
9a 
96 
103 
106 

lla 
116 
12a 
126 
13a 

136 
14a 
146 

ir.a 
156 

IGa 
166 
17a 
176 

187 

186 

19 
20) 
581  I 
22) 

Tons. 

14 
Unma 

.. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 
336 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

224 

•• 

nured. 

•• 

224 

224 

" 

22^4 

I 

Straw 
Ash 

(.. 

2241 

448 
448 

J 

2241 

•• 

448 
448 
448 
448 

112 

112 

448 
448 

448 

448 

448 

112 
112 

112 
112 

224 
224 

tt 

994 

Unma 

224 

uured. 

224 

224 
224 
224 
224 
224 
224 
224 

224 
224 

224 
2M 
224 
2:4 
224 
224 

112 

;rma 

224 
224 
224 
224 
224 
224 
224 
224 

224 

224 
224 
224 
224 
224 

nures. 

224 

224 

112 

112 
112 

lia 

112 

224 
224 

224 
112 
224 

112 

112 

112 
112 
112 

112 

H2 

112 

448 
448 
448 
448 

448 
448 

448 
448 
448 

448 

•• 

ISO 
180 

84 
84 

.. 

•• 

.. 

•• 

200 
2DO 

•• 

•• 

• 

•• 

224 

67 
67 
67 
67 
67 
67 

60 
60 
<;0 
60 
60 
60 

84 
84 
84 
84 
84 
84 

Mixtu 

re  of  tt 

te  res] 

due 

of  m 

ost  of  the  oth( 

Top-dressed  in  the  Spring. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   WHEAT. 


179 


WHEAT,  TEAR  AFTER  TEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 

MANURES     AND    SEED  (OLD     BED     LAMMAS),   SOWN    AUTUMN,    1845. 


PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

INCREASE  $  ACRE 
BT  MANURE. 

8 

a 

Dressed  Corn. 

§ 

$ 

•S 

1 

"i 

«L 

gS 

g 

•tt 

ii 

•« 

1 

f:|  !  8 

^ 

i 

d 

2 

a 

if 

*if 

. 

li 

| 

as 

| 

I 

&: 

1 

1 

IP 

lr'° 

1 

i* 

1 

1 

Bush.Pcks. 

Ibs. 

Jbs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

0 

28   If 

62.3 

134 

1906 

2561 

4467 

699 

1048 

1747 

7.3  74.4 

1 

22   Of 

62.6 

120 

1509 

1953 

3462 

302 

440 

742 

8.1  J77.3 

2 

27   Cf 

63.0 

113 

1826 

2454 

4S80 

619 

941 

1560 

6.6  74.4 

3 

17   3f 

63.8 

64 

1207 

1513 

2720 

7.4 

79.7 

4 

25   3f 

63.5 

130 

1777 

2390 

4167 

570 

877 

1447 

7.8 

74.3 

j 

19   Of 

63.7 

87 

1305 

1541 

2846 

98 

28 

126 

84.6 

2 

27   0 

63.0 

126 

1827 

2309 

4136 

620 

796 

1416 

79.1 

»  I 

23   2t 
30   Of 

63.4 
63.3 

100 
165 

1598 
2076 

1721 
2901 

3319 

4977 

391 
869 

208 

1S88 

599 
2257 

92.8 

71.6 

6a 
66 

20   It 
29   Of 

63.7  1  102 
68.5  '  114 

1400 
1967 

1676 
2571 

3076 
4r38 

193 

760 

1C3 

10E8 

356 
1818 

7.0  836 

5.3  J76.5 

7a 

22   3f 

63.0)  97 

1534 

1968 

3502 

327 

405 

732 

6.8  77.9 

76 

31   3   63.4 

150 

2163 

3007 

5170 

9L6 

1494 

2450 

7.5 

72.6 

8a 

22   3* 

63.5 

101 

1549 

1963 

342 

450 

792 

7.1 

78.9 

86 

29   Of 

63.6 

132 

1988 

2575 

45C3 

781 

1002 

1843 

7.2  77.2 

23   2f 

63.0 

122 

1614 

2033 

3047 

407 

520 

927 

7.9  179.4 

96 

28   £t 

63.31  114 

1942 

2C03 

4545 

735 

1090 

1825 

7.0  74.6 

lOa 

27   H 

63.6  109 

1850 

2244 

4094 

643 

731 

1374 

6.4  82.4 

106 

17   2t 

63.8 

92 

1216 

1455 

2671 

9 

-58 

-49 

7.8 

83.6 

lla 

23   If 

63.3 

145 

1628 

2133 

3761 

421 

620 

1041 

9.8 

76.3 

116 

30   Oi 

63.  2  155 

2055 

2715 

4770 

848 

1202 

2050 

6.1  75.7 

12a 

24   li 

63.0  125 

1661 

2163 

3824 

454 

650 

1104 

7.9  76.8 

126 

28   2f 

63.4;  136 

1955 

2554 

4509 

748 

1041 

1789 

7.4  176.5 

13a 

24   0 

63.51  136 

1660 

2327 

3987 

453 

814 

1267 

9.1  71.3 

136 

29   If 

63.2,  138 

1998 

2755 

4753 

791 

1242 

2033 

7.3  72.5 

14a 

23   2i 

63.0 

117 

16C5 

2031 

3636 

398 

518 

916 

7.7 

79.0 

146 

26   '*i 

63.4 

124 

1812 

2534 

4356 

605 

1021 

1626 

7.4 

71.5 

15a 

31    If 

62.5 

147 

2112 

?936 

5048 

905 

1423 

2328 

7.5 

71.9 

156 

27   2f 

63.0 

117 

1861 

2513 

4374 

654 

1COO 

1654 

5.9 

74.0 

16a 

23   3 

62.5 

108 

1592 

2067 

3659 

385 

554 

939 

7.0 

77.0 

166 

30   1 

62.7  122 

2019 

2836 

4855 

812 

1323 

2135 

6.6 

71.2 

17a 

33   2f 

62.8  129 

2241 

3278 

5519 

1034 

1765 

2799 

5.8  :  68.3 

176 

30   2 

63.0  113 

2034 

2784 

4818 

827 

1271 

2C98 

5.9  73.0 

18a 

31   0 

62.8  103 

2048 

2838 

4886 

841 

13?5 

2166 

5.1  72.2 

186 

21   1 

62.0  157 

1474 

1893 

3367 

267 

380 

647 

6.6 

77.1 

19 

28   3 

62.0  107 

1889 

2425 

4314 

682 

912 

1594 

5.8 

77.9 

20) 
21  I 
22  f 

180  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

This  year,  the  seed  and  manures  were  sown  in  the  autumn.  And 
I  want  the  Deacon  to  look  at  plot  0.  3  cwt.  of  Peruvian  guano 
here  gives  an  increase  of  10£  bushels  of  wheat,  and  1,048  Ibs.  of 
straw  per  acre.  This  will  pay  well,  even  on  the  wheat  alone.  But 
in  addition  to  this,  we  may  expect,  in  our  ordinary  rotation  of 
crops,  a  far  better  crop  of  clover  where  the  guano  was  used. 

In  regard  to  some  of  the  results  this  year,  Messrs.  Lawes  and 
Gilbert  have  the  following  concise  and  interesting  remarks : 

"At  this  third  experimental  harvest,  we  have  on  the  continu- 
ously unmanured  plot,  namely,  No.  3,  not  quite  18  bushels  of 
dressed  corn,  as  the  normal  produce  of  the  season ;  and  by  its  side 
we  have  on  plot  106 — comprising  one-half  of  the  plot  10  of  the 
previous  years,  and  so  highly  manured  by  ammoniacal  salts  in  1845, 
but  now  unmanured — rather  more  than  17£  bushels.  The  near 
approach,  again,  to  identity  of  result  from  the  two  unmanured 
plots,  at  once  gives  confidence  in  the  accuracy  of  the  experiments, 
and  shows  us  how  effectually  the  preceding  crop  had,  in  a  practi- 
cal point  of  view,  reduced  the  plots,  previously  so  differently  cir- 
cumstanced both  as  to  manure  and  produce,  to  something  like  an 
uniform  standard  as  regards  their  grain-producing  qualiti  s. 

"  Plot  2  has,  as  before,  14  tons  of  farm-yard  manure,  and  the 
produce  is  2?i  bushels,  or  between  9  and  10  bushels  more  than 
without  manure  of  any  kind. 

"On  plot  10a,  which  in  the  previous  year  gave  ly  ammoniacal 
salts  alone,  a  produce  equal  to  that  of  the  farm-yard  manure,  we 
have  again  a  similar  result:  for  two  cwts.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia 
has  now  given  1,850  Ibs.  of  total  corn,  instead  of  1,826  Ibs.,  which 
is  the  produce  on  plot  2.  The  straw  of  the  latter,  is,  however, 
slightly  heavier  than  that  by  the  ammoniacal  salt. 

"  Again,  plot  5^,  which  was  in  the  previous  season  unmanured, 
was  now  subdivided:  on  one-half  of  it  (namely,  5al)  we  have  the 
ashes  of  wheat-straw  alone,  by  which  there  is  an  increase  of  rather 
more  than  one  bust  3!  per  acre  of  dressed  corn ;  on  the  other  half 
(or  5ia)  we  have,  besides  the  straw-ashes,  two  cwts.  of  sulphate  of 
ammonia  put  on  as  a  top-dressing :  two  cwts.  of  sulphate  of  am- 
monia have,  in  this  case,  only  increased  the  produce  beyond  that 
of  5a'  by  71  bushels  of  corn  and  768  Ibs.  of  straw,  instead  of  by 
93/4  bushels  of  corn  and  789  Ibs.  of  straw,  which  was  the  increase 
obtained  by  the  same  amount  of  ammoniacal  salt  on  10<*,  as  com- 
pared with  106. 

"  It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  in  the  former  case  the  am- 
moniacal salts  were  top-dressed,  but  in  th?  latter  they  weit  drilled 
at  the  time  of  sowing  the  seed ;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  hi 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   WHEAT.  131 

1845  the  result  was  better  as  to  c<?m  on  plot  9,  where  the  salts  were 
sown  earlier,  than  on  plot  10,  where  the  top-dressing  extended  far 
into  the  spring.  We  have  had  several' direct  instances  of  this  kind  in 
our  experience,  and  we  would  give  it  as  a  suggestion,  in  most  cases 
applicable,  that  manures  for  wheat,  and  especially  ammoniacal 
ones,  should  be  applied  before  or  at  the  time  the  seed  is  sown  ; 
for,  although  the  apparent  luxuriance  of  the  crop  is  greater,  and 
the  produce  of  straw  really  heavier,  by  spring  rather  than  autumn 
sowings  of  Peruvian  guano  and  other  ammoniacal  manures,  yet  we 
believe  that  that  of  the  corn  will  not  be  increased  in  an  equivalent 
degree.  Indeed,  the  success  of  the  crop  undoubtedly  depends  very 
materially  on  the  progress  of  the  underground  growth  during  the 
winter  months ;  and  this  again,  other  things  being  equal,  upon  the 
quantity  of  available  nitrogenous  constituents  within  the  soil,  with- 
out a  liberal  provision  of  which,  the  range  of  the  fibrous  feeders 
of  the  plant  will  not  be  such,  as  to  take  up  the  minerals  which  the 
soil  is  competent  to  supply,  and  in  such  quantity  as  will  be  required 
during  the  after  progress  of  the  plant  for  its  healthy  and  favorable 
growth." 

These  remarks  are  very  suggestive  and  deserve  special  attention. 

"  The  next  result  to  be  noticed,"  continue  Messrs.  Lawcs  and 
Gilbert,  "is  that  obtained  on  plot  6,  now  also  divided  into  two 
equal  portions  designated  respectively  Ga  and  6&.  Plot  No.  6  had 
for  the  crop  of  1844,  superphosphate  of  lime  and  the  phosphate  of 
magnesia  manure,  and  for  that  of  1845,  superphosphate  of  limp, 
rape-cake,  and  ammoniacal  salts.  For  this,  the  third  season,  it 
was  devoted  to  the  trial  of  the  wheat-manure  manufactured  under 
the  sanction  of  Professor  Liebig,  and  patented  in  this  country. 

"  Upon  plots  6  ',  four  cwts.  per  acre  of  the  patent  wheat-manure 
were  used,  which  gave  201  bushels,  or  rather  more  than  two 
bushels  beyond  the  produce  of  the  unmanured  plot ;  but  as  the 
manure  contained,  besides  the  minerals  peculiar  to  it,  some  nitro- 
genous compounds,  giving  oft  a  very  perceptible  odor  of  ammonh, 
some,  at  least,  of  the  increase  would  be  due  to  that  substance.  On 
plot  6&,  however,  the  further  addition  of  one  cwt.  each  of  sulphate 
and  muriate  of  ammonia  to  this  so-called  'Mineral  Manure,'  giv  9 
a  produce  of  29£  bushels.  In  other  words,  the  addition  of  ammcci- 
acal  salt,  to  Liebig's  mineral  manure  has  increased  the  produce  by 
very  nearly  9  bushels  per  acre  beyond  that  of  the  mineral  manr.ro 
alone,  whilst  the  increase  obtained  over  the  unmanured  plot,  Iby 
1  i  tons  of  farm-yard  manur?,  was  only  9£  bushels  ! 

T;;e  following  table  gives  the  results  of  the  experiments  the 
fourth  year,  1846-7. 


182 


TALXS    ON   MANURES. 

EXPERIMENTS   AT   ROTHAMSTED   ON   THE   GROWTH  OF 
TABLE    IV. — MANURES     AND    PRODUCE  ;     4TH     SEASON,    18-16-7- 


MANURES  PER  ACRE. 

| 

. 

St'perptiosphate  of  Lime. 

£ 

m 

-s 

1 

i 

?p 

g 

^ 

R 
^ 

§ 

| 

5 

^~ 

1 

V| 

v| 

1 

1 

| 

1^ 

1 

1^ 

|1 

{ 

I 

_i_ 

i§ 

1 

f 

1 

1 

0 

Tons. 

Ibs. 
500 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Its.   . 

1 

£03 

£00 

350 

50 

2 

14 

3 

Unmanured. 

.. 

4 

.. 

.. 

200 

200 

300 

.. 

.. 

E« 

200 

too 

iro 

ICO 

56 

2CO 

2CO 

150 

500 

g/j 

" 

i.-o  . 

150 

66 

150 

150 

7a 

150 

ICO 

76 

.- 

150 

ICO 

8a 

200 

SCO 

150 

150 

SCO 

86 

200 

200 

200 

SCO 

1  1 

V 

" 

2240 

9fll2 

e> 

150 

i.'o 

96 

'* 

150 

150 

Ifa 

.] 

150 

150 

106 

•  • 

•• 

•• 

•• 

.. 

150 

150 

•• 

lla 

100 

100 

ICQ 

150 

116 

fm 

100 

100 

.*' 

150 

ICO 

,. 

12^ 

100 

100 

ICO 

150 

116 

100 

1'jQ 

]' 

150 

13<? 

100 

100 

150 

ICO 

136 

100 

100 

150 

150 

m'm 

1(0 

100 

[[ 

150 

150 

146 

•• 

100 

ICO 

.. 

150 

150 

15a 

2"0 

200 

SOO 

ECO 

156 

.. 

200 

.. 

2CO 

800 

.. 

£00 

IGa 

100 

100 

150 

150 

1G6 

100 

100 

150 

150 

17a 

100 

100 

\ 

150 

ICO 

176 

100 

ICO 

, 

200 

200 

18a 

103 

100 

150 

150 

lib 

.. 

100 

100 

. 

150 

KO 

.. 

19 

100 

100 

SCO 

SCO 

20 

Unmanured. 

.. 

>g 

21) 
22  f 

Mixture  of  the  residue  of  most  of  the  other  manures. 

•• 

•• 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 
WHEAT,   YEAR  AFTER  TEAB,   ON  THE  SAME  LAKD. 
MANURES  AND  8BBD  (OLD  BED  LAMMAS),  SOWN  END  OF  OCTOBER,  1846. 


183 


PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  &c. 

INCREASE  $  ACRI 
BY  MANURE. 

I 

Dressed  Corn. 

^ 

^ 

• 

t" 

-^ 

fcj 

s 

1 

t 

I 

j 

j 

|f 

5 

j 

i 

I 

$| 

<o 
| 

1 

| 

ll 

1 

i 

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&- 

f 

<§>    fe 

§ 

K 

§ 

s 

« 

25 

£ 

§ 

0 

Bush.P'cks.  Ibs.  Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

0 

33   £f 

61.1 

156 

2031 

3277 

5308 

908 

1375 

2583 

8.2 

6^.9 

1 

32   1 

61.2 

147 

2119 

3735 

5854 

996 

1833 

28x9 

7  2 

C0.7 

2 

23   3f 

G2.3 

117 

1931 

3628 

5G03 

858 

1726 

2584 

e'.2 

54.6 

3 

16   3* 

61.0 

95 

1123 

1902 

3025 

•  • 

•• 

8.9 

59.0 

4 

27   If 

61.9 

82 

1780 

2948 

4728 

657 

1046 

1703 

4.7 

60.3 

(to 

23   0 

61.8 

130 

1921 

3412 

5333 

798 

1510 

2309 

7.1 

56.3 

56 

32   2 

61.4 

136 

2132 

3721 

5833 

1003 

1819 

2827 

6.6 

5i'.2 

63 

24   3} 

62.1 

122 

1663 

2786 

4449 

540 

884 

1424 

7.8 

50.6 

21   If 

61.6 

127 

1632 

2303 

509 

901 

1410 

8.2 

58.2 

7a 

27   3* 

61.7 

118 

1*34 

3151 

4985 

711 

1249 

6.8 

58.3 

76 

25   If 

61.5 

125 

1682 

2953 

4635 

559 

1051 

1610 

7.9 

56.9 

8a 

32   If 

62.1 

102 

2115 

3683  5798 

992 

1781 

2773 

5.5 

57.4 

G3 

33   3 

61.7 

123 

2020 

3720  I  5743 

897 

1818 

2715 

6.3 

54.3 

22   3 

62.5 

ff 

1477 

2506  3983 

228 

004 

<> 

53.9 

i  2 

23   2 

61.0 

1755  3052  4807   632 

1153 

57.5 

Oft 

26   0 

61.3 

123 

1717 

2838 

4575 

534 

956 

15-JO 

60.1 

103 

25   3 

61.5 

118 

1702 

2891 

4593 

579 

983 

1GG8 

7.3 

58.8 

103 

25   2f 

61.2 

133 

1705 

2874 

4579 

582 

972 

15:4 

8.2 

59.3 

113 

30   3* 

61.6 

142 

2044 

3517 

5561 

921 

1615 

2536 

6.3 

59.5 

113 

23   If 

61.8 

123 

1941 

3203 

5141 

818 

1301 

2119 

6.7 

60.6 

12? 

23   2 

62.0 

124 

1953 

3452 

5405 

830 

1550 

2380 

6.6 

57.1 

l'2i 

2T   0* 

61.8 

121 

1796 

3124 

4920 

673 

1222 

1895 

7.1 

574 

13* 

2)   21 

02.5 

108 

1959 

3306 

52f;5 

836 

1404 

2240 

5.5 

57.3 

133 

27   if 

63.3 

96 

1801 

3171 

4972 

678 

1269 

1947 

5.3 

56.7 

1  '  "l 

23   Of 

32.8 

175 

1944 

3362 

5306 

821 

1460 

2281 

9.7 

59.5 

113 

28   Sf 

62.8 

166 

1856 

3006 

4862 

733 

1104 

1837 

9.8 

61.7 

153 

32   3 

63.0 

151 

2214 

3876 

6090 

1091 

1974 

3065 

7.2 

57.1 

1.53 

32   0 

62.6 

137 

2140 

3017 

5757 

1017 

1715 

2732 

6.6 

59.1 

15a 

29   If 

62.3 

133 

1959 

3417 

5376 

8^6 

ir>15 

2351 

6.9 

573 

133 

34   2f 

62.6 

119 

22&3 

4012 

6295 

11GO 

2110 

3270 

5.2  [56.9 

173 

33   3 

52.3 

119 

2222 

4027 

6249 

10°9 

21  n5 

3224 

5.6 

55.1 

173 

35   If 

62.0 

117 

2314 

4261 

6575 

1191 

2M-9 

35-.0 

6.4 

54.3 

133 

32   Of 

62.7 

142 

2160 

3852 

6012 

1037 

19'0 

69 

56.0 

136 

29   ij 

62.9 

181 

2029 

4164 

61!)3 

906 

2262 

3168 

9.7 

48.7 

19 

32   3 

62.8 

140 

2195 

4202 

6397 

1072 

2300 

3372 

6.7 

52.2 

20 

20   Cf 

62.5 

70 

13:32 

2074 

3496 

209 

172 

381 

4.9 

r,4.2 

21  f 

22  f 

184  TALKS    OX   MANURES. 

Here  again,  I  want  the  Deacon  to  look  at  plot  0,  where  500  Ibs. 
Peruvian  guano,  sown  in  October,  gives  an  increase  of  nearly7  14 
bushels  of  dressed  wheat  and  1,375  Ibs.  of  straw  per  acre.  On  plot 
2,  where  14  tons  of  barn  yard  manure  have  now  been  applied  four 
years  in  succession  (56  tons  in  all),  there  is  a  little  more  straw,  but 
not  quite  so  much  grain,  as  from  the  500  Ibs.  of  guano. 

"  But  will  the  guano,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  be  as  lasting  as  the 
manure  ?  " 

"  Not  for  wheat,"  said  I.  "  But  if  you  ssed  the  wheat  down  with 
clover,  as  would  be  the  case  in  this  section,  we  should  get  consid- 
erable benefit,  probably,  from  the  guano.  If  wheat  was  sown  after 
the  wheat,  the  guano  applied  the  previous  season  would  do  little 
good  on  the  second  crop  of  wheat.  And  yet  it  is  a  matter  of  fact 
that  there  would  be  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  guano  left  in 
the  soil.  The  wheat  cannot  take  it  up.  But  the  clover  can.  And 
we  all  know  that  if  we  can  grow  good  crops  of  clover,  plowing  it 
under,  or  feeding  it  out  on  the  land,  or  making  it  into  hay  and 
saving  the  manure  obtained  from  it,  we  shall  thus  be  enabled  to 
raise  good  crops  of  wheat,  barley,  oats,  potatoes,  and  corn,  and 
in  this  sense  guano  is  a  'lasting'  manure." 

"  Barnyard-manure,"  said  -the  Doctor,  "  is  altogether  too  c  last- 
ing.' Here  we  have  had  56  tons  of  manure  on  an  acre  of  land  in 
four  years,  and  yet  an  acre  dressed  with  500  Ibs.  of  guano  produces 
just  as  good  a  crop.  The  manure  contains  far  more  plant-food,  of 
all  kinds,  than  the  guano,  but  it  is  so  *  lasting '  that  it  does  not  do 
half  as  much  good  as  its  composition  would  lead  us  to  expect.  Its 
*  lasting '  properties  are  a  decided  objection,  rather  than  an  ad- 
vantage. If  we  could  make  it  less  lasting — in  other  words,  if  we 
could  make  it  act  quicker,  it  would  procluco  a  greater  effect,  and 
possess  a  greater  value.  In  proportion  to  its  constituents,  the 
barn-yard  manure  is  far  cheaper  than  the  guano,  but  it  has  a 
less  beneficial  effect,  because  these  constituents  are  not  more  com- 
pletely decomposed  and  rendered  available." 

"That,"  said  I,  "  opens  up  a  very  important  question.  We  have 
more  real  value  in  manure  than  most  of  us  are  as  yet  able  to  brin  ? 
out  and  turn  to  good  account.  The  sandy-land  farmer  has  an  ad- 
vantage over  the  clay-land  farmer  in  this  respect.  The  latter  has  a 
naturally  richer  soil,  but  it  costs  him  more  to  work  it,  and  manure 
does  not  act  so  rapidly.  The  clay-land  farmer  should  use  his  best 
endeavors  to  decompose  his  manure." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and,  like  John  Johnston,  he  will  prob- 
ably find  it  to  his  advantage  to  use  it  lar<relv  as  a  top-dressing  on 
the  surface.  Exposing  manure  to  the  atmosphere,  spread  out  on 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  185 

the  land  for  several  months,  and  harrowing  it  occasionally,  will 
do  much  to  render  its  constituents  available.  But  let  us  return  to 
Mr.  Lawes''  wonderful  experiments." 

"On  eight  plots,"  said  I,  "  300  Ibs.  of  ammonia-salts  were  used 
without  any  other  manures,  and  the  average  yield  on  these  eight 
plots  was  nearly  26  bushels  per  acre,  or  an  average  increase  of  9 
bushels  per  acre.  The  same  amount  of  ammonia-salts,  with  the 
addition  of  superphosphate  of  lime,  gave  an  increase  of  13  bushds 
per  acre.  400  Ibs.  ammonia  salts,  with  superphosphate  of  lime, 
gave  an  increase  of  nearly  16  bushels  per  acre,  or  three  bushels 
per  acre  more  than  where  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  had  bern 
used  four  years  in  succession. 

"  I  hope,  after  this,  the  Deacon  will  forgive  me  for  dwelling  on 
the  value  of  available  nitrogen  or  ammonia  as  a  manure  for 
wheat." 

"  I  see,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  ground  rice  was  used  this  year 
for  manure ;  and  in  1845,  tapioca  was  also  used  as  a  manure.  The 
Connecticut  Tobacco  growers  a  few  years  since  used  corn-meal  for 
manure,  and  you  thought  it  a  great  waste  of  good  food." 

I  think  so  still.  But  we  will  not  discuss  the  matter  now.  Mr. 
Lawes  wanted  to  ascertain  whether  carbonaceous  matter  was  needed 
by  the  growing  wheat-plants,  or  whether  they  could  get  a.l  they 
needed  from  the  soil  and  the  atmosphere.  The  enormous  quanti- 
ties of  carbonaceous  matter  supplied  by  the  barn-yard  manure,  it 
is  quite  evident,  are  of  little  value  as  a  manure  for  wheat.  And 
the  rice  seems  to  have  done  very  little  more  good  than  we  should 
expect  from  the  22  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  which  it  contained.  The  largo 
quantity  of  carbonaceous  matter  evidently  did  little  good.  Avail 
able  carbonaceous  matter,  such  as  starch,  sugar,  and  oil,  was  in- 
tended as  food  for  man  and  beast — not  as  food  for  wheat  or 
tobacco. 

The  following  table  gives  the  results  of  the  experiments  the 
fifth  year,  1847-8. 


186 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF 

TABLE     V. — MANURES     AND     PRODUCE  J       5TH     SEASON,     1847-8. 


MANURES  PER  ACRE. 

, 

fc 

Superphosphate    of 
Lime. 

1 

1 

I 

§ 

1 

Itf 

So 

.| 

v   • 

1   . 

|| 

1 

1 

*l 

II 

1 

tu 

i 

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1 

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4  S 

F 

3-  a, 

I 

i 

1 

1 

5 

£ 

1  i| 

1 

fi 

|p 

S 

^ 

N 

Tons. 

Ibs. 

Ibs.    Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

0 

2240 

1 

2 

14 

3 

Unma 

aured. 

.. 

.. 

.. 

.. 

.. 

.. 

.. 

4 

.. 

.. 

.. 

.. 

•• 

200 

200 

300 

.. 

.. 

5a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

250 

250 

5ft 

\\ 

300 

203 

103 

t" 

200 

150 

,. 

200 

200 

500 

6<Z 

400 

300 

500 

200 

6ft 

*" 

200 

150 

200 

203 

7a 

^ 

\*m 

400 

303 

[[ 

153 

150 

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7ft 

.. 

.. 

.. 

!. 

.. 

200 

150 

.. 

150 

150 

500 

8a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

M 

.. 

8ft 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

9a 

\\ 

.' 

200 

150 

\\ 

\f 

f[ 

9ft 

200 

150 

150 

150 

lOa 

150 

150 

10ft 

.. 

300 

200 

103 

.. 

200 

150 

.. 

150 

150 

lla 

200 

150 

150 

150 

500 

lift 

200 

150 

200 

203 

12a 

300 

^ 

200 

150 

" 

153 

153 

500 

12ft 

300 

200 

153 

200 

200 

13a 

300 

[* 

200 

150 

\\ 

150 

150 

530 

13ft 

£00 

200 

150 

200 

200 

lla 

300 

\\ 

200 

150 

\\ 

150 

150 

500 

14ft 

.. 

300 

.. 

.! 

200 

150 

200 

200 

15a 

303 

203 

103 

200 

200 

300 

>t 

156 

.. 

300 

200 

100 

200 

-• 

200 

300 

•• 

I6a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

150 

150 

5CO 

10ft 

300 

200 

100 

\\ 

230 

150 

150 

150 

500 

17a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

17ft 

303 

200 

100 

\\ 

200 

150 

. 

200 

200 

18a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

150 

150 

186 

£03 

200 

100 

.. 

203 

150 

• 

150 

150 

19 

200 

203 

300 

E03 

20 

ETnTnftniirod- 

21 
22 

•• 

•• 

•• 

•• 

•• 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 

WHEAT,  YEAH  AFTER  TEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 

XAXUREB    AND    SEED    (OLD    RED    LAMMAS)    SOWN    AUTUMN,    1847. 


187 


PRODUCE  PEB  ACRE,  ETC.      ^K^MAiS;^0*11 

| 

1 

Dressed  Corn. 

fe 

R 

9 

1 

s 

~? 

§ 

| 

0 

ll 

^ 

Ifc  • 

£   153 

| 

£    •« 

a  s 

P 

1 

| 

i 

8 

=8 

1 

i 

f 

i 

1 

CM 

I 

R 

| 

1 

i 

1 

i 

Bu?h.  Pka. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

o 

19   Of 

53.4 

138 

1259 

2074 

3333 

307 

362 

609 

13.4  60.7 

1 

16   0} 

5J.6 

160 

1124 

1735 

2859 

172 

£3 

195 

16.3  64.7 

2 

23   2* 

58.2 

210 

1705 

3041 

4746 

753 

1329 

2082 

13.8  56.0 

14   3 

57.3 

106 

952 

1712 

2664 

19.1  KK  A 

4 

24   OJ 

58.5 

172 

1583 

2713 

4296 

631 

1001 

1632  12.0 

58.3 

5a 

29   3i  59.2 

144 

1911 

3266 

5177 

959 

1554 

2513 

7.0  58.5 

56 
6a 

33   3*  59.1 
24   3i  ;53.8 

107 
214 

1932 
1672 

3533 

2878 

54G5 
4550 

983 
720 

1821 
1168 

2801  j  5.8J57.5 
1886  i  1^1580 

66 

28   3   ,56.9 

216 

1737  2938 

47C5 

7Q5 

1256 

2041  !14.0|585 

7a 

SO   3}  59.4 

106 

1936 

3038 

5024 

934 

1370 

23CO  j  5.7(62.6 

76 

29   3J  59.6 

187 

1963 

3413 

5376 

1011 

1701 

2712 

10.3 

57.5 

8a 

19   3 

56.2 

154  f  1263 

2317 

3580 

311 

605 

916 

13.6 

54.5 

19   Of  '59.4 

127   1237  2148 

3115 

315 

436 

751 

11.1 

58.8 

9a 

18   84-  56.7 

125 

1181  19-15 

3123 

229 

233 

462 

11.0  60.7 

96 
ICa 

25   CJ  S53.3 
19   1   53.1 

208 
215 

1609  2918 
1334  2367 

4:87 
3701 

717 

3S2 

1206  1923 
655  1037 

13.9,57.1 
19.0  56.3 

106 

25   OJ  57.8 

155 

1004 

2926 

4530 

652 

1214  1866 

10.G 

54.8 

lla 

29   H 

53.6 

233 

1984 

3274 

5258 

1032 

1562  i  2594 

13.1 

60.6 

116 

24   3 

57.9 

207 

1641 

28;)8 

4539 

689 

1186 

1875 

14.1 

5G.4 

12a 

29   3 

53.3 

174 

1938 

5-328 

986 

1G78 

2604 

93 

57.2 

126 

26   Of 

59.2 

167 

1717 

2330 

4597 

765 

•1168 

1933 

10.7 

59.6 

29   1* 

57.9 

253 

1955 

3293 

5245 

1003 

1578 

2581 

14.7 

50.4 

136 

25   3i 

53.4 

224 

1730 

3072  4832 

778 

1300 

2138 

14.6 

56.3 

Ma 

28   OJ 

•58.8 

184 

1834 

3217 

5091 

882 

1545 

2427 

11.1 

56.3 

146 

25   8* 

58.5 

227 

1726 

2897 

4023 

774 

1185 

1959 

15.1 

59.5 

153 

f2   ?i 

58.1 

242 

1571 

2937 

4503 

619  1225 

1844 

18.1 

53.4 

156 

24   2f 

55.9 

202 

1607 

3016 

4623 

655 

1304 

1959 

14.1 

53.2 

ISa 

29   Si 

60.0 

184 

1973 

3115 

5088 

1021 

1403 

2424  10.2 

63.3 

165 

30   If 

58.4 

171 

1948 

3380 

6358 

906 

16C58 

2(164  9.4  57.6 

17a 

27   fj 

59.7 

285 

1933 

3296 

5:129 

981 

1581 

8566 

1  7.0  i  58.6 

176 

28   Si 

59.7 

222 

1946 

3324 

5270 

994 

1612 

2606 

12.6  58.5 

ISa 

26   3 

59.2 

150 

1734 

2035 

4C.69 

782  1223 

2005 

9.2(  59.0 

186 

26   2f 

59.6 

215 

1804 

3056 

4860 

852 

1344 

2196 

13.3,  58.7 

19 

29    If 

56.2 

185 

1838 

32^5 

6133 

886 

1583 

2469 

10.4'  55.7 

20 

16   Of 

58.3 

111 

1050 

1721 

2771 

98 

9 

107 

11.8  61.0 

21  \ 

22  f 

188  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

This  season  was  considered  unfavorable  for  wheat.  The  con- 
tinuously unmanured  plot  proJacjd  14|  bushels,  and  the  plot 
receiving  14  tons  of  barn  yard  manure,  2o£  bushels  per  acre  nearly. 

300  Ibs.  of  ammonia-salts  alone  on  plot  10a,  gave  19£  bushels 
per  acre,  while  the  same  quantity  of  ammonia,  with  superphos- 
phate in  addition,  gave,  on  plot  95,  25  bushels  per  acre. 

The  addition  to  the  above  manures  of  800  Ibs.  of  potash,  200  Us. 
soda,  and  100  Ibs.  sulphate  of  magnesia,  on  plot  10£,  gave  pre- 
cisely the  same  yield  per  acre  as  the  ammonia  and  the  superphos- 
phate alone.  The  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia,  therefore,  did  no  good. 

400  Ibs.  of  ammonia-salts,  with  superphosphate,  potash,  etc.,  gave> 
on  plot  176,  nearly  29  bushels  per  acre,  or  3 £  bushels  more  than  the 
plot  which  has  now  received  70  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  in  five 
successive  years. 

"  I  see  that,  on  plot  0,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  one  ton  of  superphos- 
phate was  used  per  acre,  and  it  gave  only  half  a  bushel  per  acre 
more  than  350  Ibs.  on  9a." 

"  This  proves,"  said  I,  "  that  an  excessive  dose  of  superphos- 
phate will  do  no  harm.  I  am  not  sure  that  100  Ibs.  of  a  good 
superphosphate  drilled  in  with  the  seed,  would  not  have  done  as 
much  good  as  a  ton  per  acre." 

"  You  say,"  remarked  the  Deacon,  "  that  the  season  was  unfa- 
vorable for  wheat.  And  yet  the  no-manure  plot  produced  nearly 
15  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre." 

"  That  is  all  true,"  said  I,  "  and  yet  the  season  was  undoubtedly 
an  unfavorable  one.  This  is  shown  not  only  in  the  less  yield,  but 
in  the  inferior  quality  of  the  grain.  The  '  dressed  corn  '  on  the  no- 
manure  plot  this  year  only  weighed  57£  Ibs.  per  bushel,  while  last 
year  it  weighed  6i  Ibs.  per  bushel." 

"By  the  way,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  what  do  Messrs.  Lawes  and 
Gilbert  mean  by  *  dressed  corn'  ?  " 

"  By  '  corn,' "  said  I,  "  they  mean  wheat ;  and  by  *  dressed  corn ' 
they  mean  wheat  that  has  been  run  through  a  fanning-mill  until 
all  the  light  and  shrunken  grain  is  blown  or  sieved  out.  In  other 
words/  dressed  corn '  is  wheat  carefully  cleaned  for  market.  The 
English  farmers  take  more  pains  in  cleaning  their  grain  than  we 
do.  And  this  '  dressed  corn '  was  as  clean  as  a  good  fanning-mill 
could  make  it.  You  will  observe  that  there  was  more  '  cffal  corn ' 
this  year  than  last.  This  also  indicates  an  unfavorable  season." 

"It  would  have  been  very  interesting,"  said  the  Doctor,  "if 
Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert  had  analyzed  the  wheat  produced  by  the 
different  manures,  so  that  we  might  have  known  something  in  re- 


EXPERIMENTS    OX    WHEAT.  189 

gard  to  the  quality  of  the  flour  as  influenced  by  the  use  of  different 
fertilizers." 

"They  did  that  very  thing,"  said  I,  "and  not  only  that,  but 
they  made  the  wheat  grown  on  different  plots,  into  flour,  and  as- 
certained the  yield  of  flour  from  a  given  weight  of  wheat,  and  the 
amount  of  bran,  middlings,  etc.,  etc.  They  obtained  some  very 
interesting  and  important  results.  I  was  there  at  the  time.  But 
this  is  not  the  placj  to  discuss  the  question.  I  am  often  amused, 
however,  at  the  remarks  we  often  hear  in  regard  to  the  inferior 
quality  of  our  wheat  as  compared  to  what  it  was  when  the  country 
was  new.  Many  seem  to  think  that  '  there  is  something  lacking  in 
the  soil' — some  say  potash,  and  some  phosphates,  and  some  this, 
and  some  that.  I  believe  nothing  of  the  kind.  Depend  upon  it, 
the  variety  of  the  wheat  and  the  soil  and  season  have  much  more 
to  do  with  the  quality  or  strength  of  the  flour,  than  the  chemical 
composition  of  the  manures  applied  to  the  land." 

"At  any  rate,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  we  may  be  satisfied  that  any- 
thing that  will  produce  a  vigorous,  healthy  growth  of  wheat  is 
favorable  to  quality.  We  may  use  manures-  in  excess,  and  thus 
produce  over-luxuriance  and  an  unhealthy  growth,  and  have  poor, 
shrunken  grain.  In  this  case,  it  is  not  the  use,  but  the  abuse  of 
the  manure  that  does  the  mischief.  We  must  not  manure  higher 
than  the  season  will  bear.  As  yet,  this  question  rarely  troubles  us. 
Hitherto,  as  a  rule,  our  seasons  are  batter  than  our  farming.  It 
may  not  always  be  so.  We  may  fi:id  the  liberal  use  of  manure  so 
profitable  that  we  shall  occasionally  use  it  in  excess.  At  present, 
however,  the  tendency  is  all  the  other  way.  We  have  more  grain 
of  inferior  quality  from  lack  of  fertility  than  from  an  excess  of 
plant-food." 

"  That  may  be  true,"  said  I,  tv  but  we  have  more  poor,  inferior 
wheat  from  lack  of  draining  and  good  culture,  than  from  lack  of 
plant-food.  Red-root,  thistles,  cockle,  and  chess,  have  done  more 
to  injure  the  reputation  of  '  Genesee  Flour,'  than  any  other  one 
thing,  and  I  should  like  to  hear  more  said  about  thorough  cultiva- 
tion, and  the  destruction  of  weeds,  and  less  about  soil  exhaustion." 

The  following  table  shows  the  results  of  the  experiments  the 
tlxtU  year,  1848-9. 


190 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF 
TABLE  VI.— MANURES    AND   PRODUCE;    6TH    SEASON,    1848-9. 


MANURES  PER  ACRE. 

, 

Superphosphate  oj  Ltme. 

| 

o 

s 

«0 

!3 

1 

*j 

§ 

s 

1 

2  • 

J  . 

'15 

1 

Se 

s« 

Is 

j 

1 

jl 

1 

|j 

1 

¥ 

I1 

! 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

f~ 

1 

•^ 

1 

i 

Tons. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

0 

fiOO 

450 

1 

600 

400 

200 

2 

14 

3 

Unma 

nured. 

4 

.. 

.. 

200 

200 

300 

5a 

" 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

2fO 

250 

56 

300 

208 

ICO 

200 

150 

\\ 

2CO 

2(iO 

500 

6a 

" 

300 

200     \  100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

66 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

7a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

76 

.'. 

300 

2CO 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

8a 

Unma 

lured. 

86 

2COO 

„ 

2CO) 

iba 

Unma 

nured. 

200 

SCO 

106 

200 

200 

llo 

200 

150 

200 

200 

116 

]\ 

[] 

I) 

200 

150 

\ 

200 

200 

12a 

300 

200 

150 

200 

200 

126 

[\ 

SOO 

[\ 

't't 

200 

150 

\ 

200 

200 

130 

( 
" 

300 

" 

200 

150 

200 

200 

136 

300 

\[ 

150 

2^0 

200 

300 

SOO 

150 

200 

200 

146 

.. 

300 

.. 

.. 

200 

150 

. 

200 

200 

•• 

I5a 

300 

2^0 

100 

200 

2A0 

300 

156 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

300 

5:0 

Ifia 

" 

300 

200 

100 

2nO 

150 

SsOO 

200 

166 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

" 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

176 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

\ 

20(> 

200 

I8a 

300 

2CO 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

186 

. 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

.. 

19 

200 

200 

300 

500 

20 

Unmanured 

2?.) 

Mixture  of  the  residue  of  most  of  the  other  manures. 

• 

•• 

EXPERIMENTS    OX    WHEAT. 

WHEAT,  TEAR  AFTER  YEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 
MANURES  AND    SEED    (RED   CLUSTER),    SOWN    AUTUMN,    1848. 


191 


PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

INCREASE  ^  ACRE 
BY  MANURE. 

1 

Dressed 

Corn 

*  I-1 

. 

§ 

1 

-2 

BushTpks. 

C.-4 

v 

8 

1 

§ 

^J 

^  £> 

(^j 

?} 

.0 

^Q 

si 

j^. 

1 

| 

1 

|i 

1 

1 
* 

g 

s 

ii 

? 

g 

$1 

| 

5 

*$ 

ir 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 

1 

1 

1 

Ibs. 

IbsT 

lb». 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Jbs. 

o 

1 

2 

31   6 

63*.  8 

107 

2M8 

3029 

E097 

839 

liis 

2254 

4.7 

68*.3 

3 

19   1 

61.4 

47 

1229 

1614 

2843 

39 

76.1 

4 

30   0 

63.0 

110 

2063 

2645 

4708 

834 

1031 

1865 

5.6 

78.0 

5a 

37   1} 

63.1 

89 

2446 

3589 

6C35 

1217 

1S75 

3192 

3.7 

68.1 

£6 

39   a 

t 

63.4 

97 

2651 

8824 

6475 

1422 

2*10 

3(582 

5.0  69.3 

60 

36   1^ 

• 

63.0 

117 

2410 

3072 

5482 

1181 

K58 

2639 

5.1  78.4 

66 

37   3 

63.0 

94 

2484 

3516 

6(CO 

IS  55 

1102 

3157 

3.9  70.6 

la 

38   & 

631 

137 

2576 

3584 

6110 

1147 

1970 

3317  15.6  71.9 

76 

37   3j 

62.9 

141 

2531 

3386 

5927 

13C2 

1782 

3084 

5.9  74.5 

8a 

22   3 

61.7 

76 

1481 

1815 

3*96 

252 

201 

453 

5.3  81.6 

86 

31   2^ 

63.0 

85 

2C80 

31GG 

5246 

851 

15L2 

2403  4.3  i  65.7 

9a 

30   2J 

62.8 

111 

2C35 

2688 

4718 

806 

10C9 

1875  5.8  75.8 

96 

22   i; 

62.3 

80 

1475 

1810 

3285 

246 

186 

432  i5.7  81.5 

10  'i 

32     2; 

62.3 

112 

2141 

2851 

4992 

912 

1237 

2149  5.5  75.1 

106 

32   li 

63.3 

110 

2157 

2860 

5117   928 

1346 

2274 

5.3 

72.9 

lla 

35   W 

62.6 

121 

2317 

2892 

5209 

1088 

1278 

2366 

5.6 

80.1 

32    1; 

63.0 

112 

2149 

$942 

5091   920 

1328 

2248  5.5  73.0 

12a 

35    3; 

•   64.3 

93 

2398 

3371 

5767   1167 

1757 

2924  4.1 

71.1 

126 

34    1: 

64.3 

71 

2277 

3300 

5577 

1048 

1687 

2735  3.2  fii'.O 

13o 

34  a 

64.1 

101 

2340  32S6 

5576  1111 

1622 

2733  4.5;7?.3 

136 

34   2 

64.1 

129 

2346  3246 

5592  1117 

1682 

2749  5.8  12.3 

14a 

34   1 

64.3 

56 

2266  3211 

5477 

1C37 

1597 

2634  2.5  70.6 

146 

31   1- 

t 

64.3 

112 

2123 

3218 

5341 

894 

1604 

2498  j5.5  6G.O 

15a 

31   a*  64.2 

65 

2109 

3038 

5147 

880 

1424 

2304  3.2  694 

156 

30   Of 

64.1 

68 

2005 

32G2 

5267 

776 

1648 

2424  '3.5  61.5 

167 

33   If  64.5 

101 

2254 

33R4 

5638  1025 

1770 

2795  4.7  66.6 

166 

3:?   3^ 

1   64.6 

75 

2268 

3559 

5S27  1039 

1945 

2<84  3.4  63.7 

17a 

34   1 

64.3 

111 

2316 

3891 

6207 

1087 

2277 

3364  5.1  59.4 

176 

as  ii 

t 

64.4 

112 

2259 

3858 

6117 

1030 

2244 

3274  5.2  5  .5 

ISa 

32   1* 

Ir 

64.0 

93 

2163 

3592 

5755 

P34 

1978 

2912  4.5  60.2 

186 

33   2i 

64.0 

95 

2243 

3779 

6022 

1014 

2165 

3179  4.4  59.3 

19 

29   2i 

63.9 

102 

1994 

3270 

5264 

765 

1656 

2421 

5.4  61.0 

20 

21  I 

22  f 

183  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

"  This  was  my  last  year  at  Rothamsted,"  said  I,  "  and  I  feel  a 
peculiar  interest  in  looking  over  the  results  after  such  a  lapse  of 
time.  When  this  crop  was  growing,  my  father,  a  good  practical 
farmer,  but  with  little  faith  in  chemical  manures,  paid  me  a  visit. 
We  went  to  the  experimental  wheat-field.  The  first  two  plots,  0 
and  1,  had  been  dressed,  the  one  with  superphosphate,  the  other 
with  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia.  My  father  did  not  seem  much 
impressed  with  this  kind  of  chemical  manuring.  Stepping  to  the 
next  plot,  where  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  had  been  used,  he 
remarked,  "  this  is  good,  what  have  you  here  ?  " 

"  Never  mind,"  said  I, "  we  have  better  crops  farther  on." 

The  next  plot,  No.  3,  was  the  one  continuously  unmanured.  "  I 
can  beat  this  myself,"  said  he,  and  passed  on  to  the  next.  "  This 
is  better,"  said  he,  "what  have  you  here ?" 

"  Superphosphate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia." 

"Well,  it  is  a  good  crop,  and  the  straw  is  bright  and  stiff." — It 
turned  out  30  bushels  per  acre,  63  Ibs.  to  the  bushel. 

The  next  six  plots  had  received  very  heavy  dressings  of  ammo- 
nia-salts, with  superphosphate,  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia.  He 
examined  them  with  the  greatest  interest.  "  What  have  you  here?" 
he  asked,  while  he  was  examining  5a,  which  afterwards  turned  out 
37J  bushels  per  acre. — "  Potash,  soda,  epsom-salts,  superphosphate, 
and  ammonia — but  it  is  the  ammonia  that  does  the  good." 

He  passed  to  the  next  plot,  and  was  very  enthusiastic  over  it, 
"  What  have  you  here?" — "Raps-cake  and  ammonia,"  said  I.  — 
"It  is  a  grand  crop,"  said  he,  and  after  examining  it  with  great 
interest,  he  passed  to  the  next,  6a.— "  What  have  you  here?"— 
"  Ammonia,"  said  I ;  and  at  63  he  asked  the  same  qaestion,  and  I  re- 
plied "  ammonia."  At  7«,  the  same  question  and  the  same  answer. 
Standing  between  76  and  8a,  he  was  of  course  struck  with  the 
difference  in  the  crop ;  8a  was  left  this  year  without  any  manure, 
and  though  it  had  received  a  liberal  supply  of  mineral  manures 
the  year  before,  and  minerals  and  ammonia-salts,  and  rape-cake, 
the  year  previous,  it  only  produced  this  year,  3£  bushels  more  than 
the  plot  continuously  unmanured.  The  contrast  between  the 
wheat  on  this  plot  and  the  next  one,  might  well  interest  a  prac- 
tical farmer.  There  was  over  15  bushels  per  acre  more  wheat  on 
the  one  plot  than  on  the  other,  and  1,581  Ibs.  more  straw. 

Passing  to  the  next  plot,  he  exclaimed  "  this  is  better,  but  not  so 
good  as  some  that  we  have  passed." — "It  has  had  a  heavy  dressing 
of  rape-cake,"  said  I,  "equal  to  about  100  Ibs.  of  ammonia  per 
acre,  and  the  next  plot  was  manured  this  year  in  the  same  \vay> 
Th3  only  difference  being  that  one  had  superphosphate  and  potash, 


EXPERIMENTS    OX    WHEAT.  193 

soda,  and  magnesia,  the  year  before,  while  the  other  had  super- 
phosphate alone."  It  turned  out,  as  you  see  from  the  table,  that 
the  potash,  etc.,  only  gave  half  a  bushel  more  wheat  per  acre  the 
year  it  was  used,  and  this  year,  with  2,000  Ibs.  of  rape-cake  on  each 
plot,  there  is  only  a  bushel  per  acre  in  favor  of  the  potash,  soda, 
and  magnesia. 

The  next  plot,  95,  "was  also  unmanured  and  was  passed  by  my 
father  without  comment.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  on  coming  to  the  two 
next  plots,  10  z  and  10&,  "  this  is  better,  what  have  you  here  ?  " — 
'•'Nothing  bat  ammonia"  said  I,  "and  I  wish  you  would  tell  me 
which  is  the  best  of  the  two  ?  Last  year  106  had  a  heavy  dressing 
of  minerals  and  superphosphate  with  ammonia,  and  10a  the  same 
quantity  of  ammonia  alone,  without  superphosphate  or  other 
mineral  manures.  And  this  year  both  plots  have  had  a  dressing  of 
400  Ibs.  each  of  ammonia-salts.  Now,  which  is  the  best — the  plot 
that  had  s  iperphosphate  and  minerals  last  year,  or  the  one  with- 
out?"— "  Well,"  said-  he,  "  I  can't  see  any  difference.  Both  are 
good  crops." 

You  will  see  from  the  table,  that  the  plot  which  had  the  super- 
phosphate, potash,  etc.,  the  year  before,  gives  a  peck  less  wheat  this 
year  than  the  other  plot  which  had  none.  Practically,  the  yield  is 
the  same.  There  is  an  increase  of  13  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre — 
and  this  increase  is  clearly  due  to  the  ammonia-salts  alone. 

The  next  plot  was  also  a  splcndil  crop. 

"  What  have  you  lierc  ?  " 

"Superphosphate  and  ammonia." 

This  plot  (lla),  turned  out  35  bushels  per  acre.  The  next  plot, 
with  phosphates  and  ammonia,  was  nearly  as  good.  The  next  plot, 
with  potash,  phosphates,  and  ammonia,  equally  good,  but  no  better 
than  lla.  There  was  little  or  no  benefit  from  the  potash,  except 
a  little  more  straw.  The  next  plot  was  good  and  I  did  not  wait  for 
the  question,  but  simply  said,  "ammonia,"  and  the  next  "ammo- 
nia," and  the  next  "  ammonia." — Standing  still  and  looking  at  the 
wheat,  my  father  asked,  "  Joe,  where  can  I  get  this  ammonia  ?" 
He  bad  previously  been  a  little  skeptical  as  to  the  value  of  chem- 
istry, and  had  not  a  high  opinion  of  "  book  farmers,"  but  that 
wheat-crop  compelled  him  to  admit  "  that  perhaps,  after  all,  there 
tnijht  be  some  good  in  it."  At  any  rate,  he  wanted  to  know  where 
he  could  get  ammonia.  And,  now,  as  then,  every  good  farmer  asks 
the  same  question:  "Where  can  I  get  ammonia?"  Before  we 
attempt  to  answer  the  question,  let  us  look  at  the  next  year's  ex- 
periments.— The  following  is  the  results  of  the  experiments  the 
seventh  year,  1849--50. 
9 


194 


TALKS    ON    MA  NUKES. 
EXPSBIMENTS    AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  O31 


TABLE    VII. — MANURES     AND     PRODUCE  ;     7TH     SEASON.     1849-50.         AFTER     THE 

2  TO  3  FEET  DEEP.      MANURES   AND   SEED 


MANURES  PER  ACRE. 

Superplwsphate  of  Lime 

| 

| 

•X 

i 

t 

"S? 

2 

g 

•^ 

1 

§ 

It 

| 

1 

^ 

•&  =: 

1 

Ji 

H 

1 

t 

s 

i 

i, 

| 

•1^ 

1 

i 

1 
1 

1 

i 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1S 

s 

3 

1 

1 

Tons. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

0 

600 

450 

1 

600 

400 

200 

2 

ii 

3 

Uiimanured. 

4 

.. 

.. 

.. 

200 

200 

SOO 

.. 

.. 

5l 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

250 

250 

56 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

2:.o 

250 

to 

tf 

300 

200 

ICO 

200 

150 

\\ 

200 

200 

II 

66 

CO 

2"0 

ICO 

200 

150 

200 

200 

7a 

mm 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

500 

76 

•  • 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

•• 

200 

200 

500 

Sa 

200 

200 

86 

200 

200 

200 

200 

95 

200 

200 

10a 

200 

200 

106 

.. 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

.. 

lid 

200 

150 

200 

200 

116 

200 

150 

200 

200 

ISa 

|| 

300 

|| 

2:0 

150 

200 

200 

125 

300 

200 

150 

200 

200 

180 

|.| 

300 

|| 

1* 

200 

150 

\\ 

200 

200 

.  . 

136 

300 

200 

150 

200 

200 

14a 

300 

t| 

II 

200 

150 

200 

200 

.. 

146 

.. 

300 

200 

150 

.. 

200 

200 

.. 

15a 

" 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

300 

156 

300 

200 

10J 

200 

200 

300 

•  • 

500 

16i 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

1()6 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

\\ 

200 

200 

M 

300 

200 

103 

200 

150 

200 

200 

176 

300 

200 

100 

2^0 

150 

\\ 

200 

200 

tf 

Ifta 

|| 

300 

203 

100 

200 

ir-0 

200 

200 

.. 

186 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

•  • 

19 

200 

200 

300 

.. 

500 

20 

Uninanured. 

, 

.. 

211 
22f 

Mixture  of  the  residue  of  most  of  the  other  manures. 

.. 

.. 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 
WHEAT,  YEAR  AFTER  YEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 


195 


HARVEST  OF  1849  THE  FIELD  WAS  TILE-DRAINED  IN  EVERT  ALTERNATE  FURROW, 

(R.BD  CLUSTER),  SOWN  IN  AUTUMN,  1849. 


PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

INCREASE  $  ACRE 
BY  MANURE. 

i 

Dressed  Corn. 

c 

<S 

. 

^ 

§o 

S 

' 

§ 

| 

g 

. 

. 

S 

!§ 

« 

1 

-s 

2 

. 

§L 

| 

| 

g 

12 

1 

§ 

1 

s 

\ 

11 

"a 

•a 

a 

51 

4 

1 

e 

3 

a 

i 

x  -^ 

4 

3 

^ 

1 

^ 

^ 

S 

^ 

o>    s 

§* 

SQ 

CM 

^> 

25 

CM 

0 

?* 

Bush.  Pks.llhs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

0 

19   H 

60.8 

42 

1220 

2037 

3257 

218 

318 

536 

3.5 

59  9 

1 

2 

28   2 

61.9 

98 

1861 

3245 

5106 

859 

1526 

2335 

5.4 

57  3 

3 

15   3J 

60.6 

44 

1002 

1719 

2721 

•• 

•• 

4.5 

58.2 

4 

27   3 

61.2 

87 

1785 

3312 

5097 

783 

1593 

2376 

5.1 

53.9 

5a 

29   3* 

60.4 

171 

1974 

4504 

6478 

972 

2785 

3757 

.5 

43.8 

56 

30   3 

60.4 

160 

2018 

4379 

6397 

1016 

2«GO 

3676 

.6  6.1 

30   fj 

61.1 

119 

19aO 

3:>27 

5887 

958 

2208 

3166 

.3  49.9 

66 

29   3* 

61.3 

148 

1930 

3959 

5939 

978 

2240  3218 

.0  50.0 

7a 

32   1 

61.0 

167 

2134 

4485 

6619 

1132 

27<>6  3893 

.4  J47.9 

76 

32   Ci 

61.2 

150 

2112 

4230 

6392 

1110 

2561 

3671 

.6 

49.4 

fel 

23   3 

61.1 

101 

1856 

3407 

5263 

854 

16S8 

2512 

.5 

54.5 

86 

30   1 

61.0 

103 

1948 

3591 

5539 

946 

1872  i  2318 

5.6 

54.2 

9a 

30   H 

60.4 

118 

1951 

3550 

5501 

919 

1831  :  2780 

6  3 

55  0 

96 

27   2} 

60.8 

80 

1762 

3165 

4927 

760 

1446  2206 

4.7  55.7 

lOa 

26   3f 

60.2 

100 

1721 

3039 

4810 

719 

1370  2089 

fi.l  55.7 

106 

17   8t 

61.1 

76 

1171 

1949 

3120 

169 

230 

399 

6.8 

60.1 

lla 

30   3i 

61.0 

121 

9001 

3306 

5807 

999 

2087 

3086 

6.4 

52.6 

116 

29   H  61.1 

145 

1940 

3T41 

5681 

938 

2022  29BO 

8.0 

51.9 

12  -« 

29   8f  61.5 

94 

1935 

3921 

5856 

933 

2202 

3135 

5.1 

49.4 

12'; 

30   3f  61.4 

115 

2013 

3905 

5918 

1011 

2186 

3197 

5.9 

51.5 

13  < 

31   3*  60.2 

105 

2027 

4025 

6153 

1025 

2307 

3332 

5.4 

50.3 

136 

30   ]J  61.0 

111 

1964 

4008 

5972 

962 

2289 

3251 

S.O 

49.0 

1-la 

31   If  61.1 

102 

2023 

4052 

6075 

1021 

2333 

3354 

5.3 

49.9 

146 

31   1|  61.5 

65 

1995 

4015 

6010 

9.)3 

2296 

3289 

3.2 

49.7 

15a 

26   0}  61.5 

90 

1693 

3321 

5014 

691 

1602 

2293  5.7 

51.0 

156 

30   £|  61.0 

59 

1942 

3i)23  5368 

910 

2207 

3147 

3.0  49.5 

16a 

33   2*  60.3 

108 

2134 

5103  7237 

1132  33«4 

4516 

5.3  41.8 

166 

33   3   60.4i  122 

2159 

4615  6774 

1157  281)6 

4053  6.0  46.8 

17a 

31    1   61.2 

73 

1985 

4126  6111 

983  2407 

3390  3.8  48  1 

176 

29"   2f  61.5 

139 

19'il 

4034  5995 

959  2315 

3274  7.7  48.6 

18,7 

29   8i  61.2 

110 

1934 

3927  5%  I 

932  2208 

S140  6.1  49.3 

186 

23  ,  2£  60.9 

103 

1845 

3844  5689 

843 

2125 

2968 

5.7  48.0 

19 

29   0   60.8 

88 

1850 

3527  5377 

848 

1808 

2056 

4.9  52.4 

20 

14   0   59.1 

40 

863 

1639 

2507  —134 

—80 

-214 

4.5  53.0 

21  1 

22  f 

..    ..  |  .. 

•• 

•• 

•• 

-• 

196  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

The  summer  of  1850  was  unusually  cool  and  unfavorable  for 
wheat.  It  will  be  seen  that  on  all  the  plots  the  yield  of  grain  is 
considerably  lower  than  last  year,  with  a  greater  growth  of  straw. 
You  will  notice  that  106,  which  last  year  gave,  with  ammo- 
nia-salts alone,  82£  bushels,  this  year,  with  superphosphate,  potash, 
soda,  and  sulphate  of  magnesia,  gives  less  than  18  bushels,  while 
the  adjoining  plot,  dressed  with  ammonia,  gives  nearly  27  bushels. 
la  other  words,  the  ammonia  alone  gives  9  bushels  per  acre  more 
than  this  large  dressing  of  superphosphate,  potash,  etc. 

On  the  three  plots,  8a,  8b  and  9a,  a  dressing  of  ammonia- salts 
alone  gives  in  each  case,  a  larger  yield,  both  of  grain  and  straw,  then 
the  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  on  plot  2.  And  recollect  that 
this  plot  has  now  received  98  tons  of  manure  in  seven  years. 

"  That,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  certainly  a  very  remarkable  fact." 

"  It  is  so,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"But  what  of  it  ?  "  asked  the  Squire,  "  even  the  Professor,  here, 
does  not  advise  the  use  of  ammonia-salts  for  wheat." 

*4  That  is  so,"  said  1,  "but  perhaps  I  am  mistaken.  Such  facts 
as  those  just  given,  though  I  have  been  acquainted  with  them  for 
many  years,  sometimes  incline  me  to  doubt  the  soundness  of  my 
conclusions.  Still,  on  the  whole,  I  think  I  am  right." 

"  We  all  know,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  you  have  great  respect 
for  your  own  opinions." 

"  Never  mind  all  that,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  tell  us  just  what 
you  think  on  this  subject." 

"  In  brief,"  said  I,  "  my  opinion  is  this.  We  need  ammonia  for 
•wheat.  But  though  ammonia-salts  and  nitrate  of  soda  can  often  be 
used  with  decided  profit,  yet  I  feel  sure  that  we  can  get  ammo- 
nia or  nitrogen  at  a  less  cost  per  Ib.  by  buying  bran,  malt  roots, 
cotton-seed  cake,  and  other  foods,  and  using  them  for  the  double 
purpose  of  feeding  stock  and  making  manura." 

u  I  admit  that  such  is  the  case, "  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  here  is  a 
plot  of  land  that  has  now  hnd  14  tons  of  manure  every  year  for 
s?ven  years,  and  yet  there  is  a  plot  along  side,  dressed  with  am- 
monia-salts furnishing  less  than  half  the  ammonia  contained  in  the 
14  tons  of  manure,  that  produces  a  better  yield  of  wheat." 

"  That,"  said  I,  "  is  simply  because  the  nitrogen  in  the  manure 
is  not  in  an  available  condition.  And  the  practical  question  is, 
how  to  make  the  nitrogen  in  our  manure  more  immediately  avail- 
able. It  is  one  of  the  most  important  questions  which  agricultural 
science  is  called  upon  to  answer.  Until  we  get  more  light,  I  fee] 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  197 

sure  in  saying  that  one  of  the  best  methods  is,  to  feed  our  animals 
on  richer  and  more  easily  digested  food." 

The  following  table  gives  the  results  of  the  eighth  season  of 
1850-51. 


198  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OP 
TABLE    VIII.— MANURES    AND    PEODUCB  ;    8TH    SEASON.    1850-51. 


0 

1 

2 
3 

4 

57 

55 

66 
7.1 

76 

8a 

9!) 
106 
lla 

13  1 

14i 

116 

16  1 

17a 
176 
18? 
13$ 

2)) 
21  V 
«j 

MANURES  PER  ACRE. 

1 

s 

Toa-j. 

14 
U.inu 

Cut  Wheat-straw 
and  Chujf. 

Common,  Salt. 

i 

j 

Sulphate  of  Mag- 
nesta. 

S'iperptiosphate  oj 

Lime. 

i 

Ji 
I 

.  5:  \  Muriate  of  Ammo- 
P  \  nia. 

Ibs. 

Bone-ash. 

ft 

I* 

1 

Ibs. 
rarjd. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 
600 

Ibs. 
430 

Ibs. 
230 

Ibs. 
530 

Ibs. 
453 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

•• 

•• 

•• 

•• 

230 

200 
2)3 
200 
233 
230 
203 

150 
150 
150 
150 
150 
150 

230 

400 

300 

330 
230 
200 
200 
203 

00 
30 
30 
30 
30 
30 

1033 
10  JO 

5030 

•• 

303 
333 
3)0 
303 
330 
3  JO 

233 
230 
2)0 
233 
230 
233 

103 
100 
100 
100 
100 
103 

333 

203 

100 

233 

150 

•- 

100 
200 
200 
200 
200 

200 
203 
200 
233 
230 
203 
230 
200 

400 
330 

300 
300 
230 
230 
230 
233 

300 

00 

30 

33 
30 

200  ! 
233 
230 
230 
230 
200 
230 
230 

300 
333 
200 
200 
200 
200 

5^0 
500 

• 

230 
230 
230 
230 
200 
200 
200 
200 

200 

200 

230 
200 
230 
200 

150 
150 
150 
150 
150 
153 
153 
153 

153 
150 
150 
150 

200 
230 

•  • 

835' 
e< 

233 
230 
330 
300 
200 
200 

200 
200 

200 
230 
233 
230 

103 
103 

100 
103 

100 
103 
100 
103 

103 

133 

100 
100 

100 
100 
100 
100 

200 

.. 

200 

Unnnnurcd.  •< 

.. 

.. 

Top-dressed  in  March,  1851. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  199 

WHEAT,  YEAR  AFTER  TEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 
MANURES    AND    SEED    (BED    CLUSTER),    SOWN    AUTUMN,   1850. 


PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

INCREASE  $  ACRI 
BY  MANURE. 

! 

Dressed  Corn. 

| 

cj 

^s 

1 

1? 

I 

| 

<3 

i 

§ 

!L 

| 

-« 

II 

i 

I 

s 

f 

•^•^ 

^ 

53 

f^"53 

sj 

Q 

.g 

"§ss 

•a 

3 

§ 

3  a 

S 

"e 

f-3 

„. 

I 

gflq 

1 

g 

S 

1 

I 

i 

S 

1 

Bush.  P'ks. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ihs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

0 

18   3* 

61.9 

125 

1296 

1862 

3158 

213 

235 

448 

10.769.6 

1 

18   1J 

61.7 

124 

1251 

1845 

3096 

218 

386 

11.067.8 

2 

29   21 

63.6 

166 

2049 

3094 

5143 

966 

1467 

2433 

8.866.2 

3 

15   3J 

61.1 

114 

1033 

1627 

2710 

4 

28   01 

62.6 

159 

1919 

2949 

4868 

836 

1322 

.. 
2158 

9.0 

65.1 

5a 

36   0 

63.3 

194 

2473 

4131 

6604 

1390 

2504 

3894  8.6 

59.9 

56 

37   3* 

63.3 

213 

2611 

4294 

6905 

1528 

2667 

4195 

8.9 

00.8 

6(1 

33   11 

63.3 

154 

2271 

3624 

5895 

1188 

1997 

3185 

7.2 

62.6 

66 

31   Ot 

02.3 

189 

2119 

3507 

5626 

1036 

1880 

2916 

9.8 

00.4 

7a 

36   31 

63.0 

201 

2524 

4587 

7111 

1441 

2960 

4401 

8.7 

55.0 

76 

37   11 

63.0 

178 

2532 

4302 

6834 

1449  2675 

4124 

7.6 

58.8 

8a 

26   Of 

02.8 

141 

1785 

2769 

4554 

702 

1142 

1844 

8.6 

64.5 

86 

27   2t 

52.0 

137 

1863 

2830 

4693 

780  1203 

1983 

7.9 

65.8 

31   11 

52.4 

182 

2142 

3252 

5394 

1059  1625 

2084 

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1970 

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1966 

3070 

5036 

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64.0 

106 

28   21 

62.5 

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1937 

3048 

4985 

854 

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2275 

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200  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

The  plot  continuously  unmanured,  gives  about  16  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre. 

The  plot  with  barn-yard  manure,  nearly  30  bushels  per  acre. 

400  Ibs.  o-f  ammonia-salts  alone,  on  plot  9#,  31£  bushels  ;  on  95, 
29  bushels ;  on  IQa  and  106,  nearly  29  bushels  each.  This  is  remark- 
able uniformity. 

400  Ibs.  ammonia-salts  and  a  large  quantity  of  mineral  manures 
in  addition,  on  twelve  different  plots,  average  not  quite  32  bushels 
per  acre. 

"The  superphosphate  and  minerals,"  said  the  Deacon,  "do  not 
seem  to  do  much  good,  that  is  a  fact." 

You  will  notice  that  336  Ibs.  of  common  salt  was  sown  on  plot 
IQa.  It  does  not  seem  to  have  done  the  slightest  good.  Where  the 
salt  was  used,  there  is  2  Ibs.  less  grain  and  98  Ibs.  less  straw  than 
on  the  adjoining  plot  166,  where  no  salt  was  used,  but  otherwise 
manured  alike.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  the  quality  of  the 
grain  was  slightly  improved  by  the  salt.  The  salt  was  sown  in 
March  as  a  top-dressing. 

"It  would  have  been  better,"  said  the  Deacon.  "  to  have  sown  it 
*n  autumn  with  the  other  manures." 

"  The  Deacon  is  right,"  said  I,  "  but  it  so  happens  that  the  next 
year  and  the  year  after,  the  salt  was  applied  at  the  same  time  as 
the  other  manures.  It  gave  an  increase  of  94  Ibs.  of  grain  and  61 
Ibs.  of  straw  in  1851,  but  the  following  year  the  same  quantity  of 
salt  used  on  the  same  plot  clid  more  harm  than  good." 

Before  we  leave  the  results  of  this  year,  it  should  be  observed 
that  on  82,  5,000  Ibs.  of  cut  straw  and  chaff  were  used  per  acre.  I 
do  not  recollect  seeing  anything  in  regard  to  it.  And  yet  the 
result  was  very  remarkable — so  much  so  indeed,  that  it  is  a  matter 
of  regret  that  the  experiment  was  not  repeated. 

This  5,000  Ibs.  of  straw  and  chaff  gave  an  increase  of  more  than 
10  bushels  per  acre  over  the  continuously  unmanured  plot. 

"  Good,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  have  always  told  you  that  you 
under-estimated  the  value  of  straw,  especially  in  regard  to  its 
mechanical  action." 

I  did  not  reply  to  this  remark  of  the  good  Deacon.  I  have  never 
doubted  the  good  effects  of  anything  that  lightens  up  a  clay  soil 
and  renders  it  warmer  and  more  porous.  I  suppose  the  great  benefit 
derived  from  this  application  of  straw  must  be  attributed  to  its 
ameliorating  action  on  the  soil.  The  5,000  Ibs.  of  straw  and  chaff 
produced  a  crop  within  nearly  3  bushels  per  acre  of  the  plot  ma- 
nured every  year  with  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure. 

"lam  surprised,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  salt  did  no  good.     I 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  201 

have  seen  many  instances  in  which  it  has  had  a  wonderful  effect 
on  wheat." 

"  Yes,"  sail  I,  "  and  our  experienced  friend,  John  Johnston,  is 
very  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  its  use  is  highly  profitable.  He 
sows  a  barrel  of  salt  per  acre  broadcast  on  the  land  at  the  time  he 
sows  his  wheat,  and  I  have  myself  seen  it  produce  a  decided  im- 
provement in  the  crop." 

We  have  now  given  the  results  of  the  first  eight  years  of  the  ex- 
periments. From  this  time  forward,  the  same  manures  were  used 
year  after  year  on  the  same  plot. 

The  results  are  given  in  the  accompanying  tables  for  the  follow- 
ing twelve  years— harvests  for  1852-53-54-55-56-57-58-59-60- 
61-62  and  1863.  Such  another  set  of  experiments  are  not  to  be 
found  in  the  world,  and  they  deserve  and  will  receive  the  careful 
study -of  every  intelligent  American  farmer 

"I  am  with  you  there,"  said  the  Deacon.  "You  seem  to  think 
that  I  do  not  appreciate  the  labors  of  scientific  men.  I  do.  Such 
experiments  as  these  we  are  examining  command  the  respect  of 
every  intelligent  farmer.  I  may  not  fully  understand  them,  but  I 
can  see  clearly  enough  that  they  are  of  great  value." 


202 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF  WHEAT,  TBAR 
AFTER  TEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 

TABLE  IX.— MANURES  per  Acre  per  Annum  (with  the  exceptions  explained  in 
the  Notes  on  p.  203),  for  12  Years  in  succession— namely,  for  the  9th,  10th, 
llth,  12th,  13th,  14th,  15th,  16th,  17t..,  18th,  19th,  and  20th  Seasons;  that  is, 
for  the  crops  of  Harvests  1852-53-54-55-56-57-58-59-60-61-62  and  1863.* 


' 

Manures  per  Acre  per  Annum  for  12  Years,  1851-2  to  1862-3  inclusive, 
except  in  the  cases  explained  in  the  Notes  on  p,  203. 

Farmyard  Ma- 
nure. 

5 

K 

el 

P 

Sulphate  of  Soda.* 

o> 

1 

V« 

f* 

Superphosphate   of 
Lime. 

g 

^ 

V| 

"e  § 

f 
Ibs. 

g 
^ 

V| 

-2  1 
•§  ** 

1 

Nitrate  of  Soda. 

1 

1 

is~' 
S3? 
3  § 

Muriatic 
Acid. 

0 

1 

2 
3 

4 
5a 
56 
6a 
66 
7a 
76 
8a 
86 
9a" 
•  963 
lOa 
106 
lla 
116 
12a 
126 
13a 
136 
14a 

146 
15a 
156 
16a 
166 
J17a 
*1l76 
J18a 
61l86 
19 
20 
21 
22 

Tons. 

14 

Unmai 
Unina 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 
600 

Ibs. 
400 

Ibs. 
200 

Ibs. 

600 

Ibs. 
450 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

•• 

-• 

in  red 
lured 

iso 

150 
150 
150 
150 
150 
150 
150 
150 

•' 

ioo 

100 
200 
200 
300 
300 

200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
400 
300 
400 
400 
200 
200 

ioo 

100 
200 
200 
300 
300 

200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 

400 
400 
200 
200 

550 
550 

500 

300 
300 
300 
300 
300 
300 
300 
300 
300 

200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 

•• 

•• 

200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 

200 
200 
200 

iso 

150 
150 
150 
150 
150 
150 
150 

150 
150 

150 
150 

200 
200 

3364 

300 
300 

300 
300 
300 
300 

550 
550 

200 
200 
200 
200 

420 
420 
100 
100 
100 
100 

Uuma 

Hired 

300 
300 

200 
200 

ioo 

100 

200 

300 

ioo 

500 

300 
300 

200 
200 

100 
100 

ioo 

*  For  the  particulars  of  the  produce  of  each  separate  season,  see  TabJea 
X.-XXI.  inclusive. 


EXPEKIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  203 


NOTES  TO  TABLE  IX.  (p.  203.) 

*  For  the  \Qth  and  succeeding  seasons— -the  sulphate  of  potass 
was  reduced  from  600  to  400  Ibs.  per  acre  per  annum  on  Plot  1, 
and  from  300  to  200  Ibs.  on  all  the  other  Plots  where  it  was  used  ; 
the  sulphate  of  soda  from  400  to  200  Ibs.  on  Plot  1,  to  100  Ibs.  on 
all  the  Plots  on  which  200  Ibs.  had  previously  been  applied,  and 
from  550  to  336|  Ibs.  (two-thirds  the  amount)  on  Plots  12a  and 
125 ;  and  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  from  420  to  280  Ibs.  (two-thirds 
the  amount)  on  Plots  14#  and  145. 

a  Plot  Qa — the  sulphates  of  potass,  soda,  and  magnesia,  and  the 
superphosphate  of  lime,  were  applied  in  the  12th  and  succeeding 
seasons,  but  not  in  the  9th,  10th,  and  llth ;  and  the  amount  of 
nitrate  of  soda  was  for  the  9th  season  only  475  Ibs.  per  acre,  and 
for  the  10th  and  llth  seasons  only  275  Ibs. 

3  "Plot  95— in  the  9th  season  only  475  Ibs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  were 
applied. 

4  Common  salt — not  applied  after  the  10th  season. 

8  Plots  17a  and  175,  and  ISa  and  185— the  manures  on  these 
plots  alternate :  that  is,  Plots  17  were  manured  with  ammonia-salts 
in  the  9th  season ;  with  the  sulphates  of  potass,  soda,  and  magne- 
sia, and  superphosphate  of  lime,  in  the  10th  ;  ammonia-salts  again 
in  the  llth;  the  sulphates  of  potass,  soda,  and  magnesia,  and 
superphosphate  of  lime,  again  in  the  12th,  and  so  on.  Plots  18, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  the  sulphates  of  potass,  soda,  and  magne- 
sia, and  superphosphate  of  lime,  in  the  9th  season  ;  ammonia-salta 
in  the  10th,  and  so  on,  alternately. 


204 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OP  WHEAT,  YEAR 
AFTER  YEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 


TABLE  X.  —  PHODUCE  of  the  9rn  SEASON,  |;TABI.E  XI.  —  PRODUCE  of  the  IOTH  SEA- 

1851-2.    SEED(lle<   Cluster)  sown  No- 

PON. 1853.    SEED  (Hod  Rostock)  sown 

vember  7,  1851  ;  Crop  cut  August  24, 
1852. 

March   16;    Crop   cut   September   10, 
and  carted  September  20,  1853. 

PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

PRODUCE  PER  ACRE.  ETC. 

(For  the  Manures   see  pp.  202 

(For  tiie  Manures    see  pp.   202 

and  203.) 

and  203). 

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EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 


205 


EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OP  WHEAT,  TEAB 
AFTER  YEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 


TABLE      All.  —  rUODUCK      OI      1116       11TH 

SEASON.  1S53-4     SEED  (Red  Rostock) 
sown    Novi-iuber   12,  1853  ;    Crop  cut 
August  21,  and  carted  August  31,  1854. 

1AUL.K     ALII.  —  .ruUUUUlS      III       Mie     1«TM 

SEASON,  1854-5.    SEED  (Red  Rostock) 
sown   November  9,  1854;    Crwp    cut 
Aii'nist  26,  and  carted  September  2, 
1855. 

PKODUCK  PEU  ACRE.  ETC. 

PUODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

For  the  Manures   see   pp.  202 

(For  the  Manures   see  pp.  202 

and  203). 

and  20:J). 

4 

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24      2X 

50.3 

1530     47-33 

12a 

45      3  U' 

62.2 

29G6 

8469 

12f{ 

30    '  0*4 

59.5 

1940     5178 

126 

45      IX 

62.2 

2033 

8412 

126 

33      2 

60.2 

2172  i  6182 

13a 

45      OX 

62  2 

2913 

8311 

29      0 

59.9 

1924  :  5427 

136 

43      3X 

62.2 

2858 

8403 

136 

32      2 

60.4 

2110  j  5980 

14a 

45      IK 

62.2 

2946 

8498 

29      3 

60.0 

1954     5531 

146 

44      OX 

62.2 

2863 

8281 

146 

33       1% 

60.0 

2158 

5161 

15a 

43      1  '4' 

62.1 

2801 

7(500 

&1 

31      3H 

60.0 

2030  i  5855 

156 

43      1 

62.4 

2810 

8083 

156 

33      3 

60.6 

2193 

6415 

16a 

49     214 

61.7 

3230 

99^2 

Wa 

33      114 

58.2 

2100 

6634 

166 

50     0% 

61  7 

3293 

9928 

166 

32      2 

58.2 

2115 

7106 

17a 

45      3 

62.1 

2948 

8218 

17a 

18      3& 

60.8 

1227 

3203 

176 

42      214 

62.2 

2732 

7629 

176 

17      OX 

60  3 

1110 

2914 

18a 

24      0 

61.2 

1526 

3944 

18a 

32      3=K 

60  9 

2127 

6144 

186 

23     2% 

61.0 

1511 

3888 

186 

33      1-54 

60.8 

2170 

6385 

19 

41      0% 

61.7 

2666 

7343 

19 

30      OX 

58  7 

1967 

5818 

20 

22     3 

60.8 

1445 

3662 

20 

17      2X 

61.1 

1155 

2986 

21 

32     O'i 

61.2 

2030 

5470 

21 

24      1M 

60.8 

1533 

3952 

22 

31      3 

61.0 

1994 

5334 

22 

24      2X 

60.1 

1553 

4010 

206 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF  WHEAT,  YEAR 
AFTER  YEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 


TABLE     AlV.  —  PRODUCE     Ot      I  lie      I3TH 

SEASON,  1855-6.    SEED  (Red  Rostock) 

1  ABLE     A.  V  .  —  JTRODUCE     OF    THE    14TH 

SEASON.  1856-7.    SEED  (Red  Rostock) 

sown  November  13,  1855  ;  Crop  cut 

sown   November   6,  1856;   Crop   cut 

August  26,  and  carted  September  3, 

August    13,   and    carted   August  22, 

1856. 

1857. 

PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

(For  the   Manures  see   pp.  202 

(For  the  Manures    pee  pp.  202 

and  203.) 

and  203.) 

•i 

Dressed  Corn. 

!•» 

| 

Dressed  Corn. 

. 

ll 

£1 

$ 

^ 

| 

p  ss^ 

* 

jf 

*^ 

1 

! 

II 

3 

i 

jli 

I 

|| 

|I1 

3tich.  Pks. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Bush.  Pks. 

Ibs. 

llm 

Ibe. 

o 

18      IX 

56.8 

1179 

3148 

0 

18      214 

59.0 

1181 

2726 

i 

17      OK 

56.3 

1102 

3035 

1 

17      2% 

59.0 

1118 

2650 

2 

36      1J4 

58.6 

2277 

6594 

2 

41      0% 

60.4 

2587 

5910 

3 

14      2 

54  3 

892 

2450 

3 

19      3X 

58.3 

1236 

2813 

4 

16      IX 

55.5 

1026 

2757 

4 

22      1% 

58.8 

1386 

2958 

6a 

18     3*4 

56.5 

1167 

3179 

5a 

22     3% 

59.0 

1409 

3026 

56 

20      1J4 

56.2 

1247 

3369 

56 

24      214 

58.8 

1512 

3247 

Ga 

27      11.4 

58.2 

1717 

4767 

6a 

35      IX 

59  9     2211 

4968 

66 

28      OX 

58.5 

1755 

4848 

66 

35      1*4 

59  8     2193 

4950 

7a 

37      1 

58.0 

2312 

6872 

7a 

43      1J4 

60  5     2782 

6402 

76 

36      2^ 

57.6 

2244 

6642 

76 

46      IX 

60.3 

2902 

6793 

8a 

40      OX 

56.8 

2507 

7689 

8a 

47      3 

60.8 

3058 

7355 

86 

37      3M 

57.1 

2400 

7489 

86 

48     3J4 

60.6 

3129 

7579 

9a 

32      IX 

57.2 

2019 

5894 

9a 

43      3 

60.1 

2767 

6634 

96 

26      0 

56.3 

1679 

4831 

96 

36    OK 

58.0 

2220 

5203 

lOa 

24      OK 

55  6 

1505 

4323 

lOa 

29      OX 

58.0 

1816 

4208 

106 

27      2% 

57.2 

1727 

4895 

106 

34      2 

58.6 

2185 

5060 

lla 

31      3tf 

57  3 

2001 

5518 

lla 

39      0 

58.5 

2432 

5375 

116 

30      2X 

57.5 

1946 

5389 

116 

39      0% 

58.0    2S97 

5317 

12a 

qq           Ql/ 
OO           6l/2 

58.7. 

2102 

5949 

12a 

43      3X 

60  4 

2747 

6394 

126 

32      3X 

58.8 

2079 

5804 

126 

43      2 

60.4 

2729 

6312 

13a 

32      IK 

58  6 

2036 

5779 

I3a 

42      3 

60.6    2714 

6421 

136 

30      3  14 

58.9 

2008 

5659 

136 

43      2 

605    2739 

6386 

14a 

35      0^ 

58.6 

2195 

6397 

14a 

43      3 

60.5 

2181 

6439 

146 

34      OK 

59.0 

2162 

6279 

146 

42      3Y2 

60.3 

2699 

6351 

15a 

30     OX 

59.1 

1923 

5444 

160 

42      1J4 

60.4    2681     6368 

156 

32     0 

59.4 

2045 

5797 

156 

44      1% 

60.0    2765     6543 

16a 

38      OX 

58.5 

2426 

7955 

16a 

48      3J4 

60.5    3131     7814 

166 

37     3 

58.7 

2450 

7917 

106 

50      0 

60.5    3194     7897 

lln 

31      2X 

59.0 

19&3 

5541 

fla 

26      2% 

59.1     1642     3700 

176 

30      IX 

59.1 

1935 

5400 

176 

25      3K 

58.8     1583     3523 

17      3X 

57  8 

1140 

3152 

41      014 

59.7     2566     6009 

186 

18     0 

57.7 

1131 

3069 

186 

40      OJ4 

59.8    2519 

5884 

19 

32     1 

58.9 

2059 

5621 

19 

41      2X 

59.5    2600 

5793 

20 

17      0% 

57.7 

1075 

29(53 

20 

19      2X 

58.4     1213'    2777 

21 

22      IX 

58.0 

1398 

3927 

21 

•  24      0 

00  6     lf.38     3353 

22 

21    IM 

57.8 

1351 

3849 

22 

23      OX 

60.6     1491     3298 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 


20  7 


EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE   GROWTH  OF  WHEAT,  YEAR 
AFTER  YEAR,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 


TABLE    XVI.—  PRODUCE    of    the    15TH 

TABLE  XVIL—  PRODUCE  of  the  16TH 

SEASON,  1857-8.     SEKD  (Red  Rostovk) 
sown  November  3  and  11,1857;  Crop 

SEASON.  1858-9.    SEED  (Ri-d  Rostock) 
sown   November  4,  1858:    Crop   cut 

cut  August  9,  and  carted  August  20, 

August  4,  and  cart-id  August  20,  1859. 

1858. 

PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

(For   the  Manures   see  pp.  202 

(For  the  Manures  see  pp.  202 

and  203.) 

and  203.) 

•i 

Dressed  Corn. 

ll 

•j 

Dressed  Corn. 

. 

Is 

I 

fl 

CM 

jlf 

s 

1 

i 

CM 

|{ 

Bush.   Pks. 

ibc. 

Ihs. 

lb* 

Bush.  Pk*. 

lbs«. 

11)3. 

Ibs. 

0 

20      3 

61.2 

1332 

3234 

0 

21      214 

54.6 

1254 

3564 

1 

16      1^4 

60.7 

1055 

2685 

1 

19      3 

55.0 

1189 

3189 

2 

38     3J4 

62.6 

2512 

6349 

2 

36      0% 

56.5 

2263 

7073 

3 

18     0 

60.4 

1141 

2S11 

3 

18     1J4 

52.5 

1051 

322G 

4 

19     OX 

61.1 

1206 

2879 

4 

19      OK 

55.0 

1188 

3418 

5a 

18     2¥ 

61.5 

1187 

2719 

5a 

20      Stf 

56.0 

1277 

3600 

56 

19      1 

61.4 

1227 

2870 

56 

20      2X 

56.0 

1273 

3666 

da 

28     2tf 

62.1 

1818 

4395 

6fl 

29      2  >4 

56.5 

1808 

5555 

66 

29     OX 

62.1 

1850 

4563 

66 

30      OX 

56.5 

1855 

5708 

7a 

38     2}4 

61.9 

2450 

6415 

7a 

34      2% 

55.9 

2097 

6774 

76 

39     214 

62.3 

2530 

6622 

76 

34      2tf 

55.9 

2089 

6892 

Sa 

41      3% 

61.8 

2680 

7347 

fri 

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54  0 

2068 

7421 

86 

41     3)4 

61.7 

2675 

7342 

86 

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53.4 

2007 

7604 

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60.8 

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6701 

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54.5 

1806 

7076 

96 

23     2 

588. 

1470 

4158 

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24      2  14' 

50.5 

1412 

5002 

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22     3X 

59.6 

1439 

3569 

I0a 

18      3K 

51.5 

1207 

3937 

106 

27      3    ' 

61.4 

1775 

4390 

106 

25      2 

52.5 

1500 

4920 

lla 

30      3X 

60.5 

1977 

4774 

lla 

26      34 

51.4 

1628 

5155 

116 

33     0^ 

60.4 

2099 

5117 

116 

27      314 

51.3 

1C98 

5275 

12a 

37     3^ 

62.1 

2437 

6100 

12a 

34      2X 

54.5 

2060 

6610 

126 

37     02£ 

62.1 

2-387 

6060 

126 

34      3X 

54.8 

2115 

6858 

13a 

37     0% 

62.1 

2381 

6077 

13a 

34      0%, 

55.0 

2037 

6774 

136 

37     OK 

62.7 

2397 

0074 

136 

34      3X 

55.0 

2087 

6F34 

37     3% 

62.1 

2413 

6150 

14a 

34      IK 

54.5 

2054 

6817 

146 

38      1% 

62.0 

2436 

6146 

146 

34     2J4 

54.5 

2074 

6774 

15a 

35     IX 

62.6 

2285 

5300 

ISa 

34      OK 

55.0 

2053 

6P26 

156 

37     2 

62.8 

243G 

6134 

156 

35      0% 

55  0 

2095 

7088 

16a 

41      3 

62.1 

2702 

7499 

16a 

34      3% 

52.6 

2026 

7953 

166 

42     Oft 

62.1 

2717 

7530 

166 

34    IK 

52.6 

2005 

7798 

17a 

as    1*4 

62.5 

2150 

5353 

17a 

21      1  *4 

55.0 

1247 

3730 

176 

33      3  '4'        62.5 

2181 

5455 

176 

19      3 

54.5 

1K.S 

3541 

18a 

22      3%        62.3 

1472 

3480 

18a 

32      W 

55.5 

1973 

6508 

186 

23      2%£        62.4 

1338 

3305 

186 

32      2 

56.0 

1980 

GG30 

19 

33      1^4       62.5 

1 

2177 

5362 

19 

30      2 

55.5 

1903 

5926 

20 

17      0        '  60.3 

1089 

2819 

20 

17      B\i 

52.5 

1039 

3256 

21 

24      1%        61  5 

1574 

3947 

21 

26      1  '  j 

54.0 

1  f>"8 

22 

22      0           61.5 

1412 

3592 

22 

24      0% 

C5.0 

14GO 

4440 

208 


TALKS    OX    MANURES. 


EXPERIMENTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF  WHEAT,  YEAB 

AFTER  YEAB,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 
TABLE   XVIII.— PRODUCE  of  the   HTH.. TABLE    XIX.— PUODUCE  of  the   IS-rn 


SEASON.  1859-60.   SEBO  (Red  Rostov) 

SEASON.  1860-1.    ISEKU  (lied  II  stock) 

sown   November  17,  1859;    Crop   cut 

sown   November  5,   1860;    Crop   cut 

September  17  and  19,  and  carted  Octo- 

August   20,   siud    caned    August  27, 

ber  5,  1860. 

1861. 

|      PIIODUCK  PEU  AGUE,  ETC. 

PIIODUCE  rsn  ACHE,  ETC. 

(For  the  Manures   see   pp.   202 

(For  the  Manures  see  pp.   202 

•Ud  203.) 

and  203.) 

jj 

Dressed  Corn. 

-  I1! 

j 

Dressed  Corn. 

. 

1-3 

* 

$ 

?1 

1  [iff 

* 

f 

?1 

| 

Ift 

s 

Wg 

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"e  °-J5 

"a 

"fc-"^ 

*« 

"!I-*ls 

i 

|«? 

1 

"o  ^-^Q 

i 

gfq 

i 

g^ 

Bush.  Pks. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

, 

Bush.  Pka. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ihs. 

0 

14     1J4 

53.5 

826 

2271 

0 

15      IK 

57.6 

1001 

2769 

1 

12     1-K 

52.8 

717 

2097 

1 

12      3?<£ 

57.6 

8-28 

2215 

2 

32      1  '*' 

55.5 

1861 

5304 

2 

34      3l/j 

60.5 

2202 

5303 

3 

12      3X 

52  6 

738 

2197 

3 

11         1  !<! 

57.4 

736 

1990 

4 

14      2 

53.0 

832 

2352 

4 

11     3X 

58.0 

863 

2193 

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15      2^ 

54.0 

903 

2483 

6a 

15      1% 

59.1 

1047 

2540 

56 

16      OX 

53.1 

935     2595 

56 

15     IX 

59.0 

1082 

2692 

6a 

21      OX 

53  7 

1210     3393 

6a 

27      1'i 

59.5 

1755 

4328 

66 

22      3  '4- 

54.2 

1326     3719 

66 

27     8!£ 

59.4 

1818 

4501 

7a 

27      3X 

54  3 

1612     4615 

7a 

35     2^ 

59.0 

2263 

5764 

76 

27      2  '4 

51.3 

1597     4734 

76 

34      1J4 

59.0 

2183 

5738 

8a 

30      3 

52.8 

1759     5G39 

8a 

36      0 

58.3 

2290 

G203 

86 

31      2% 

52.3 

1787     5600 

86 

34     OJi 

58.'5 

2190 

5985 

9a 

32      2X 

51.5 

1858     6635 

9a 

33      3 

56.8 

2162 

6607 

96 

19      234 

48.5 

1155 

4285 

13     3 

53.9 

909 

3079 

10a 

15     OX 

49.5 

905 

3118 

Ifla 

12     3X 

55.0 

854 

2784 

106 

18      2X 

51.0 

1060     31-20 

106 

15     3% 

55.5 

3196 

t1a 

22      IX 

51  0 

lla 

23     1% 

55.3 

1455 

4032 

116 

22      1  K 

51.2 

1307     4000 

116 

25     0% 

55.8 

1578 

4223 

12a 

28      OX 

53.4 

1(548     4878 

12(? 

32      I1* 

58.1 

2009 

5201 

126 

26      2!{ 

53.5 

1577 

4GG4 

126 

33      1% 

58.7 

2144 

5481 

13a 

26      C?.£ 

51.3 

1575 

4508 

I8a 

33      1  34 

50.9 

21G8 

5486 

136 

27      OX 

53.8 

1600 

4037 

136 

35      0 

GO.O 

2304 

5794 

14a 

27      IX 

53.7 

1583 

4G8G 

14(2 

33      0  1,( 

59.1 

2125 

5C02 

146 

27     0^4 

53.2 

1563 

4666 

146 

33          3?;£ 

59.3 

2173 

5476 

15a 

25      IX 

53  8 

1510 

4387 

15a 

34     1J4 

GO  0 

2188 

5505 

156 

28      0 

54.0 

1614 

4704 

156 

34     3 

60  2 

2249 

5727 

16a 

32      2 

52  0 

1856 

5973 

IGa 

36      15S£ 

58.0 

2338 

6761 

166 

32      3 

51.7 

1889 

6096 

166 

37      2 

53.6 

2432 

6775 

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24      0*4 

54.1 

1409 

410D 

17a 

19      1 

59.3 

1229 

2982 

176 

26    IK 

51.3 

15-18 

4518 

176 

18     0% 

59.1 

1166 

2829 

10>& 

15      I'.i 

51.5 

929 

2649 

18a 

32     IX 

59.6 

2050 

5144 

1C6 

16      Itf 

54.6 

963 

2706 

186 

33      IK 

59.5 

2122 

5446 

19 

24     OK 

53.0 

1435 

4178 

19 

32      2 

58.8 

2107 

5345 

20 

12      OK 

51.5 

722 

2155 

20 

13      OX 

57  9 

872 

2340 

21 

13      2 

52  5 

803 

21 

16      1*£ 

58.2 

1109 

2749 

22 

13      8.'i 

53.8 

8-47 

2114 

22 

19      25£ 

53.5 

1306 

32(3 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    AVI1EAT. 


209 


EXPERIMENTS  AT   RDTUAMSTED  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF  WHEAT,  YEAH 
AFTER  YEAK,  ON  THE  SAME  LAND. 


TABLE    XX.—  PRODUCE    of    the    19TH 

TABLE    XXI.—  PRODUCE   of  tl  e  20TH 

SEASON,  1861-2.     SEED  (Red  Rostock) 

SEASON,  1862-3.   SELD  (Red  Rostock) 

sown    October    25,    1861  ;      Crop    cut 

sown  November  17,  1862;   Crop  cut 

August  29,  and  carted  September  12, 

August    10,  and   carted  August    18, 

1862. 

1863. 

PRODUCE  PER  ACRE,  ETC. 

PRODUCE  rr«  ACRE.  ETC. 

(For  the   Manures  see   pp.  20J 

(For  the  Mnmm-s  see  pp.  202 

uud  203.) 

and  203.) 

i 

Dressed  Corn. 

1-2 

1 

Dressed  Cwn. 

1"? 

§ 

. 

9 

E 

1  8^ 

. 

&  . 

K 

p  Sx. 

% 

$ 

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ill 

1 

$ 

3 

ill 

0 

Bush.  Pks. 
19      3X 

Ibs. 

58.5 

1228 

Ibs. 

0 

Bush.  Pks. 
22      O;/, 

Ibs. 
62.6 

1429 

Ibs. 

3,254 

1 

16      2% 

58.0 

1024 

2712 

1 

20      3 

62.8 

1334 

3.079 

2 

38      IX 

61.0 

2447 

6642 

2 

44      0 

63.1 

2886 

7.165 

3 

16      0 

57.8 

996 

2709 

3 

17      1 

62.7 

1127 

2,727 

4 

16      2X 

58.5 

1049 

2711 

4 

20      1 

62.3 

1303 

2,957 

5a 

17      83£ 

59.0 

1119 

2959 

5a 

19      2'i 

63.0 

1283 

2.970 

56 

17      2X 

59.0 

1101 

29<;i 

56 

19      3 

63.0 

1296 

3.064 

6a 

27      2 

59.5 

1715 

4551 

30      IX 

62.3 

2522 

6.236 

66 

23      3  tf 

59.8 

1797 

4897 

66 

39      3 

62.3!   2534 

6/J50 

7a 

35      2*4 

59.3 

2200 

6106 

53      1J4 

62.  6  |   3477 

9.3.'!0 

76 

3f>      0*4 

59.5 

22(55 

6178 

76 

54      0 

62.5 

3507 

9.385 

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39      3 

59.2 

2477 

7200 

56      2^ 

62.3 

36G8 

10.883 

86 

39      OVi 

59.0 

2452 

7087 

86 

54      3J4 

62.3 

3559 

10.048 

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43      IK 

59.5 

2G88 

8738 

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55      214 

62.1 

3576 

9.888 

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25      3X 

56.3 

1641 

4897 

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41      1% 

62.5 

27x3 

6,920 

lOa 

23      OU 

56.5 

1457 

4050 

lOa 

33      OX 

62.6 

2587 

6,068 

106 

24      3^ 

57.5 

1600 

4443 

106 

43      2J4 

62.8;  2858 

6.914 

Ha 

58.0 

1706 

4543 

Ha 

45      0 

62.5!   2979 

7,212 

116 

27      014 

58.0 

1734 

4607 

116 

46      2 

02.1     3060 

7,519 

]-V{ 

34      li| 

58.0 

2096 

5745 

12a 

5t      291 

62.1     3533 

8,976 

126 

33      0% 

58.0 

2025 

5634 

!£!> 

f)3      1 

62.2     3454 

8,819 

13a 

31      3% 

5S.O 

.  1953 

5543 

i|a 

£3      1 

62.6     3453 

9,192 

136 

32      2% 

&8.o 

2019 

6891 

62.5 

3439 

9,238 

144 

30      1  3i 

58.0 

18S6 

5283 

lla 

51      l4 

62.5 

3527 

8.!  86 

146 

32      0;4 

58.1 

2008 

5558 

146 

53      li£ 

62.5 

3450 

8,749 

loa 

30      1% 

58.3 

1872 

5203 

13a 

48      1'i     !C2.5 

3114 

8.276 

156 

32      2% 

58.3 

2023 

5787 

155 

43      0          62.9     3127 

8.240 

10a 

36      l?i 

58.0 

2225 

6752 

IGa 

56      2%       62.4     3710 

10.717 

166 

36      OX 

57.5 

2233 

6730 

166 

55      0,'i 

02.  3     3607    10,332 

1 

17a 

27      3X 

58.1 

1747 

4827 

Via 

21       OVi     1  62.8     1370 

3,288 

176 

27      2^i 

58.1 

1685 

4762 

176 

21       IX 

62.8     1389 

3,292 

ISa 

18      IX 

58.5 

11G8 

3161 

18a 

46       IX 

62.6     3006 

7,889 

186 

18      2% 

58  5 

1195 

3335 

m 

46      0% 

62.8     3009 

7,737 

19 

23      IX 

57.2 

1479 

4132 

19 

46      2% 

62.9     3054 

7,577 

20 

12    ij<r 

57.3 

818 

2335 

20 

17       2%£ 

62.5     1137 

2.fC9 

2.1           20      I'X 

1273 

3465 

SI 

27      21/, 

62  5     1796 

4.?",  9 

22           20      OJ4 

- 

3430        £2 

S'J      3 

C2.4     1CC7      4,f/j3 

210  TALKS    ON    MAXLT.ES. 

The  ninth  season  (1851  »2),  was  unusually  cold  in  June  and  wet 
in  August.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  wheat,  both  in  quantity  and 
quality,  is  the  poorest  since  the  commencement  of  the  experi- 
ments. The  unmanured  plot  gave  less  than  14  bushels  of  dressed 
grain  per  acre;  the  plot  with  barn-yard  manure,  less  than  28 
bushels,  and  the  best  yield  in  the  whole  series  was  not  quite  29 
bushels  per  acre,  and  only  weighed  55  Ibs.  per  bushel.  On  the  same 
plot,  the  year  before,  with  precisely  the  same  manure,  the  yield 
was  nearly  37  bushels  per  acre,  and  the  weight  per  bushel,  63£lbs« 
So  much  for  a  favorable  and  an  unfavorable  season. 

The  tenth  season  (1852-3),  was  still  more  unfavorable.  The 
autumn  of  1852  was  so  wet  that  it  was  impossible  to  work  the 
land  and  sow  the  wheat  until  the  16th  of  March  1853. 

You  will  see  that  the  produce  on  the  unmanured  plot  was  less 
than  6  bushels  per  acre.  With  barn  yard  manure,  19  bushels,  and 
with  a  heavy  dressing  of  ammonia-salts  and  minerals,  not  quite  26 
bushels  per  acre.  With  a  heavy  dressing  of  superphosphate,  not 
quite  9£  bushels  per  acre,  and  with  a  full  dressing  of  mixed 
mineral  manures  and  superphosphate,  10  bushels  per  acre. 

The  weight  per  bushel  on  the  unmanured  plot  was  45  Ibs. ;  with 
mixed  mineral  manures,  48-£  Ibs.  ;  with  ammonia-salts  alone,  48£ 
Ibs. ;  with  barn-yard  manure,  51  Ibs. ;  and  with  ammonia-salts  and 
mixed  mineral  manures,  52 J  Ibs. 

Farmers  are  greatly  dependent  on  the  season,  but  the  good 
farmer,  who  keeps  up  the  fertility  of  his  land  stands  a  better  chance 
of  making  money  (or  of  losing  less),  than  the  farmer  who  depends 
on  the  unaided  products  of  the  soil.  The  one  gets  6  bushels  per 
acre,  and  1,413  Ibs.  of  straw  of  very  inferior  quality;  the 
other  gets  20  to  26  bushels  per  acre,  and  5,000  Ibs.  of  straw.  And 
you  must  recollect  that  in  an  unfavorable  season  we  are  pretty 
certain  to  get  high  prices. 

The  eleventh  season  (1853-4,)  gives  us  much  more  attractive- 
looking  figures  !  We  have  over  21  bushels  per  acre  on  the  plot 
which  has  grown  eleven  crops  of  wheat  in  eleven  years  without 
any  manure. 

With  barn-yard  manure,  over  41  bushels  per  acre.  With  am- 
monia-salts alone  (17a),  45|  bushels.  With  ammonia-salts  and 
mixed  minerals,  (165),  over  50  bushels  per  acre,  and  6,635  Ibs.  of 
straw.  A  total  produce  of  nearly  5^  tons  per  acre. 

The  twelfth  season  (1854-5),  gives  us  17  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre 
on  the  continuously  unmanured  plot.  Over  34|  bushels  on  the 
plot  manured  with  barn-yard  manure.  And  I  think,  for  the  first 
time  since  the  commencement  of  the  experiments,  this  plot  pro- 


EXPERIMENTS    OX    WHEAT.  211 

duces  the  largest  yield  of  any  plot  in  the  field.  And  well  it  may, 
for  it  lias  now  had,  in  twelve  years,  168  tons  of  barn-yard  manure 
per  acre  ! 

Several  of  the  plots  with  ammonia-salts  and  mixed  minerals, 
are  nearly  up  to  it  in  grain,  and  ahead  of  it  in  straw. 

The  thirteenth  season  (1855-6),  gives  14£  bushels  on  the  unmanur- 
ed  plot;  over  3GJ  bushels  on  the  plot  manured  with  barn-yard  ma- 
nure ;  and  over  40  bushels  on  S.'t,  dressed  with  600  Ibs.  ammonia- 
salts  and  mixed  mineral  manures.  It  will  be  noticed  that  800  Ibs. 
ammonia-salts  does  not  give  quite  as  large  a  yield  this  year  as  600 
Ibs.  I  suppose  40  bushels  per  acre  was  all  that  the  season  was  capa- 
ble of  producing,  and  an  extra  quantity  of  ammonia  did  no  good. 
400  Ibs.  of  amjnonia-salts,  on  7<z,  produced  37|  bushels  per  acre, 
and  800  Ibs.  on  166,  only  37f  bushels.  That  extra  half  bushel 
of  wheat  was  produced  at  considerable  cost. 

The  fourteenth  season  (1856-7),  gives  20  bushels  per  acre  on  the 
unmanured  plot,  and  41  bushels  on  the  plot  with  barn-yard 
manure.  Mixed  mineral  manures  alone  on  5&  gives  nearly  23 
bushels  per  acre.  Mixed  mineral  manures  and  200  Ibs.  ammonia- 
salts,  on  6a,  give  35£  bushels.  In  other  words  the  ammonia  gives 
us  over  12  extra  bushels  of  wheat,  and  1,140  Ibs.  of  straw. 
Mineral  manures  and  400  Ibs.  ammonia-sails,  on  75,  give  46J 
bushels  per  acre.  Mineral  manures  and  600  Ibs.  ammonia-salts,  on 
83,  give  nearly  49  bushels  per  acre.  Mineral  manures  and  800  Ibs. 
of  ammonia-salts,  on  165,  give  50  bushels  per  acre,  and  4,703  Ibs. 
of  straw. 

"This  exceedingly  heavy  manuring,"  said  the  Deacon,  "does 
not  pay.  For  instance, 

"200  Ibs.  ammonia-salts  give  an  increase  of  12}  bushels  per  acre. 
400    "  "  "  "  23*        "  " 

600    "  "  "  "  26          "  " 

800     "  "  "  "  27          "  u 

The  Deacon  is  right,  and  Mr.  Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert  call  especial 
a'tention  to  this  point.  The  200  Ibs.  of  ammonia-salts  contain 
about  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia,  and  the  400  IDS.,  100  Ibs.  of  ammonia. 
And  as  I  have  said,  100  Ibs.  of  ammonia  per  acre  is  an  unusually 
heavy  dressing.  It  is  as  much  ammonia  as  is  contained  in  1,000 
Ibs.  of  average  Peruvian  guano.  We  will  recur  to  this  subject. 

The  fifteenth  season  (1857-8,)  gives  a  yield  of  18  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre  on  the  continuously  unmanured  plot,  and  nearly  39 
bushels  on  the  plot  continuously  manured  with  14  tons  of  barn- 
yard manure.  Mixed  mineral  manures  on  5a  and  55,  give  a  mean, 
yield  of  less  than  19  bushels  per  acre. 


212  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

Mixed  "mineral  manures  and  100  Ibs.  ammonia-salts,  on  plots  21 
and  22,  give  23|  bushels  per  acre.    In  other  words : 

25  Ibs.  ammonia  (100  Ibs.  ammonia-salts),  gives  an  increase  of  4i  bush. 

50  "  «  (;>OQ  "  u  "  ).  "  "  "  «  10  " 

(400  "  "  "  ),  "  "  "  »  20  " 

(600  "  "  "  ),  "  *«  "  "  23  " 

(800  "  lt  u  ),  "  "  "  "  23  " 


100 
130    " 
200    " 


"It  takes 


'  said  the  Deacon,  "  about  5  Ibs.  of  ammonia  to  pro- 


duce a  bush  1  of  wheat  And  according  to  this,  500  Ibs.  of  Peru- 
vian guano,  guaranteed  to  contain  10  per  cent  of  ammonia,  would 
give  an  increase  of  10  bushels  of  wheat." 

"This  is  a  very  interesting  matter,"  said  I,  "but  we  will  not 
discuss  it  at  present.  Let  us  continue  the  examination  of  the  sub- 
ject. 1  do  not  propose  to  make  many  remarks  on  the  tables.  You 
must  study  them  for  yourself.  I  have  spent  hours  and  days  and 
weeks  making  and  pondering  over  these  tables.  The  more  you 
study  them  the  more  interesting  and  instructive  they  become." 

The  sixteenth  season  (1858-9),  gives  us  a  little  over  18J  bushels 
on  the  unmanured  plot  On  the  plot  manured  with  14  tons  farm- 
yard manure,  86£  bushels ;  and  this  is  the  highest  yield  this  season 
in  the  wheat-field.  Mixed  mineral  manures  alone,  (mean  of  plot 
5a  and  55),  give  20A-  bushels. 

25  Ibs.  ammonia  (100  Ibs.  ammonia-salts),  and  mixed  minerals, 
give  25^  bushels,  or  an  increase  over  minerals  alone  of  4|  bushels. 

50  Jbs.  ammonia,   an  increase  of     9i  bushels. 
100   "  "        "  "    14 

150   u  u  u        «  u    14.        41 

200    "  "  "        "  "    Hi      " 

The  season  was  an  unfavorable  one  for  excessive  manuring.  It 
•was  too  wet  and  the  crops  of  wheat  when  highly  manured  were 
much  laid.  The  quality  of  the  grain  was  inferior,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  light  weight  per  bushel. 

The  seventeenth  season  (1859-60,)  gives  less  than  13  bushels  per 
acre  on  the  unmanured  plot ;  and  o2£  bushels  on  the  plot  ma- 
nured with  14  tons  farm-yard  manure.  This  season  (1860),  was  a 
miserable  year  for  wheat  in  England.  It  was  both  cold  and  wet. 
3Iixed  mineral  manures,  on  plots  5a  and  55,  gave  nearly  16  bushels 
per  acre.  25  Ibs.  ammonia,  in  addition  to  the  above,  gave  less 
than  15  bushels.  In  other  words  it  gave  no  increase  at  all. 

50  Ibs.  ammonia,  gave  an  increase  of     6    bushels. 
100    "  44  u       *'        "         "    11}        " 

150    "  "  "       "        "         "    154        " 

200    u  *•  "       "        "         "    161        " 

It  was  a  poor  year  for  the  wheat-grower,  and  that,  whether  he 
manured  excessively,  liberally,  moderately,  or  not  at  all. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  213 

"  I  do  not  quite  see  that,1'  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  farm-yard  ma- 
nure gave  an  increase  of  nearly  20  bushels  per  acre.  And  the  quality 
of  the  grain  must  have  been  much  better,  as  it  weighed  3£  Ibs. 
per  bushel  more  than  the  plot  urimanureJ.  If  the  wneat  doubled 
in  price,  as  it  ought  to  do  in  such  a  poor  year,  I  do  not  see  but  that 
the  good  farmer  who  had  in  previous  years  made  his  land  rich, 
would  come  out  ahead." 

"  Gooil  for  the  Deacon,"  said  I.  " '  Is  Saul  also  among  the 
prophets  ? '  "  If  the  Deacon  continues  to  study  these  experiments 
much  longer,  we  shall  have  him  advocating  chemical  manures  and 
high  farming ! 

The  eighteenth  season  (1860-1,)  gave  less  than  \\\  bushels  per 
acre  on  the  unmanured  plot ;  and  nearly  35  bushels  on  the  ma- 
nured plot. 

The  mixed  mineral  manures,  gave  nearly 15?  bushels. 

"  "  "          and    25  Ibs.  ammonia  ..13^        " 

i<  II  tl  U  5Q       U  U  27'f  " 

"  "  "  «    100    "          "  35          " 

"  «  «  «    150    "          "  35          " 

«  «  a  tt    300    a          tt  37          « 

The  nineteenth  season  (1861-2,)  gave  16  bushels  per  acre  on  the 
unmanured  plot,  and  over  38£  bushels  on  the  plot  manured  with 
farm-yard  manure. 

Mixed  mineral  manures,  gave  nearly 18    bushels  per  acre. 

"        and    25  Ibs.   ammonia.. 20?        " 

"          "     100    "  "  36*        "  " 

"          "     150    "  "  33?        "  " 

"          "     200    "  "  86i        "  " 

The  twentieth  season  (1862-3),  gave  17i  bushels  on  the  unma- 
nured plot,  and  44  bushels  per  acre  on  the  manured  plot. 

M'xed    mineral    manures    alone  gave 10$  bushels  per  acre. 

"       arid    25  Ibs.   ammonia.. 2  f        "  " 

"         "      50      "  "  3C*        "  " 

"         "    100      "  "  5C?        "  " 

u  u     150       «  n  5r;| 

"         '*    200     "  «'          50         "  " 

When  we  consider  that  this  is  the  twentieth  wheat-crop  in  suc- 
cession on  the  same  land,  these  figures  are  certainly  remarkable. 

"  They  are  so,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  and  what  to  me  ia  the  most  sur- 
prising thing  about  the  whole  matter  is,  that  the  plot  which  has  had 
no  manure  of  any  kind  for  25  years,  and  has  grown  20  wheat-crops 
in  20  successive  years,  should  still  produce  a  crop  of  wheat  of  17£ 
bushels  per  acre.  Many  of  our  fanners  do  not  average  10  bushels 
per  acre.  Mr.  Lawes  must  either  have  very  good  land,  or  else  the 


214  TALKS    ON   MANUKES. 

climate  of  England  is  better  adapted  for  wheat-growing  than  West- 
era  JS'ew  York." 

"I  do  not  think,"  said  I,  "  that  Mr.  Lawes'  land  is  any  better 
than  yours  or  mine;  and  I  do  not  think  the  climate  of  England  is 
any  more  favorable  for  growing  wheat  without  manure  tnan  our 
climate.  If  there  is  any  difference  it  is  in  our  favor." 

"  Why,  then,"  asked  the  Doctor,  "  do  we  not  grow  as  much 
wheat  per  acre  as  Mr.  Lawes  gets  i'rom  his  continuously  unmanured 
plot?" 

This  is  a  question  net  difficult  to  answer. 

1st.  We  grow  too  many  weeds.  Mr.  Lawes  plowed  the  land  twice 
every  year;  and  the  crop  was  hoed  once  or  twice  in  the  spring  to 
kill  the  weeJs. 

2J.  We  do  not  half  work  our  heavy  land.  We  do  not  plow  it 
enough — do  not  cultivate,  harrow7,  and  roll  enough.  I  have  put 
wheat  in  on  my  own  farm,  and  have  seen  others  do  the  same  thing, 
when  the  drill  on  the  clay-spots  could  not  deposit  the  seed  an  inch 
deep.  There  is  "plant-food"  enough  in  these  '•  clay-spots"  to 
give  17  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre — or  perhaps  40  bushels — but  we 
shall  not  get  ten  bushels.  The  wheat  will  not  come  up  until 
late  in  the  autumn — the  plants  will  be  weak  and  thin  on  the 
ground  ;  and  if  they  escape  the  winter  they  will  not  get  a  fair  hold 
of  the  ground  until  April  or  May.  You  know  the  result.  The 
straw  is  full  of  sap,  and  is  almost  sure  to  rust;  the  grain  shrinks 
up,  and  we  harvest  the  crop,  not  because  it  is  worth  the  labor,  but 
because  we  cannot  cut  the  wheat  with  a  machine  on  the  better 
parts  of  the  field  without  cutting  these  poor  spots  also.  An  acre 
or  two  of  poor  spots  pull  down  the  average  yield  of  the  field 
below  the  average  of  Mr.  Liwes'  well-worked  but  unmanured  land. 

3d.  Much  of  our  wheat  is  seriously  irjured  by  stagnant  water  in 
the  so'l,  a-id  standing  water  on  the  surface.  I  think  we  may  safely 
siy  that  one-third  the  wheat-crop  of  this  county  (Monroe  Co.,  N. 
Y.),  is  lost  for  want  of  bettor  tillage  and  better  draining — and  yet 
we  think  we  have  «s  good  wheat-land  and  are  as  good  farmers  as 
can  be  found  in  this  country  or  any  other! 


Unless  wo  drain  land,  where  drainnge  is  needed,  and  unless  we 
work  land  thoroughly  that  needs  working,  and  unless  we  kill  the 
weeds  or  check  their  excessive  growth,  it  is  poor  economy  to  sow 
expensive  manures  on  our  wheat-crops. 

But  I  do  not  think  there  is  much  danger  of  our  falling  into  this 
error.  The  farmers  who  try  artificial  manures  are  the  men  who 
usually  take  the  greatest  pains  to  make  the  best  and  most  manure 


LIME    A3    A    MANURE.  215 

from  the  animals  kept  on  the  farm.  They  know  what  manures  cost 
and  what  they  are  worth.  As  a  rule,  too,  such  men  are  good  farm- 
ers, and  endeavor  to  work  their  land  thoroughly  and  keep  it  clean. 
When  this  is  the  case,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  we  can  often 
use  artificial  manures  to  great  advantage. 

"  You  say,"  said  the  Deacon,  who  had  been  looking  over  the 
tables  while  I  was  talking,  "  that  mixed  mineral  manures 
and  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia  give  39£  bushels  per  acre.  Now  these 
mixed  mineral  manures  contain  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  and  super- 
phosphate. And  I  see  where  superphosphate  was  used  without  any 
potash,  soda,  and  magnesia,  but  with  the  same  amount  of  ammonia, 
the  yield  is  nearly  46  bushels  per  acre.  This  docs  not  say  much  in 
favor  of  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia,  as  manures,  for  wheat.  Again, 
I  see,  on  plot  10$,  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia,  alone,  gives  over43|  bushels 
per  acre.  On  plot  115,  50  Ibs.  ammonia  and  superphosphate,  give 
46|  bushels.  Like  your  father,  I  am  inclined  to  ask,  *  Where  can  I 
get  this  ammonia  ? ' " 


CHAPTER     XXVIII. 
LIME    AS    A    MANURE. 

These  careful,  systematic,  and  long-continued  experiments  of 
Lawes  and  Gilbert  seem  to  prove  that  if  you  have  a  piece  of 
land  well  prepared  for  wheat,  which  will  produce,  without  manure, 
say  15  bushels  per  acre,  there  is  no  way  of  making  that  land  pro- 
duce 30  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  without  directly  or  indirectly 
furnishing  the  soil  with  a  liberal  supply  of  available  nitrogen  or 
ammonia. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  directly  or  indirectly  ? "  asked  the 
Dec  con. 

"  What  I  had  in  my  mind,"  said  I,  "  was  the  fact  that  I  have 
seen  a  good  dressing  of  lirne  double  the  yield  of  wheat.  In  such 
a  case  I  suppose  the  lime  decomposes  the  organic  matter  in  the 
soil,  or  in  some  other  way  sets  free  the  nitrogen  or  ammonia 
already  in  the  soil ;  or  the  lime  forms  compounds  in  the  soil  which 
attract  ammonia  from  the  atmosphere.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the 
facts  brought  out  by  Mr.  Lawes'  experiments  warrant  us  in  con- 
cluding that  the  increased  growth  of  wheat  was  connected  in  some 
way  with  an  increased  supply  of  available  nitrogen  or  ammonia. 


21(3  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

My  father  used  great  quantities  of  lime  as  manure.  He  drew 
it  a  distance  of  13  miles,  and  usually  applied  it  on  land  intended 
for  wheat,  spreading  it  broad-cast,  after  the  land  had  received  its 
last  plowing,  and  harrowing  it  in,  a  few  days  or  weeks  before  sow- 
ing the  wheat.  He  rarely  applied  less  than  100  bushels  of  stone- 
litne  to  the  acre — generally  150  bushels.  He  used  to  say  that  a 
small  dose  of  lime  did  little  or  no  good.  He  wanted  to  use  enough 
to  change  the  general  character  of  the  land — to  make  the  light  land 
firmer  and  the  heavy  land  lighter. 

While  I  was  with  Mr.  Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert  at  Rothamsted,  I 
went  home  on  a  visit.  My  father  had  a  four-horse  team  drawing 
lime  every  day,  and  putting  it  in  large  heaps  in  the  field  to  slake, 
beforo  spreading  it  on  the  land  for  wheat. 

"  I  do  not  believe  it  pays  you  to  draw  so  much  lime,"  said  I,  with 
the  confidence  which  a  young  man  who  has  learned  a  little  of  agri- 
cultural chemistry,  is  apt  to  feel  in  his  newly  acquired  knowledge. 

"  Perhaps  not,1'  said  my  father,  "  but  we  have  got  to  do  some- 
thing for  the  land,  or  the  crops  will  be  poor,  and  poor  crops  do  not 
pay  these  times.  What  wouLl  you  use  instead  of  lime  ?  " — "Lime 
is  not  a  manure,  strictly  speaking,"  sai.l  I;  "a  bushel  to  the  acre 
would  furnish  all  the  lime  the  crops  require,  even  if  there  was  not 
an  abundant  supply  already  in  the  soil.  If  you  mix  lime  with 
guano,  it  sets  free  the  ammonia  ;  and  when  you  mix  lime  with  the 
soil  it  probably  decomposes  some  compounds  containing  ammonia 
or  the  elements  of  ammonia,  and  thus  furnishes  a  supply  of  ammo- 
nia for  the  plants.  I  think  it  would  be  cheaper  to  buy  ammonia 
in  the  shape  of  Peruvian  guano." 

After  dinner,  my  father  asked  me  to  take  a  walk  over  the  farm. 
We  came  to  a  field  of  barley.  Standing  at  one  end  of  the  field, 
about  the  middle,  he  asked  me  if  I  could  see  any  difference  in  the 
crop.  "Oh,  yes,"  I  replied,  "the  barley  on  the  right-hand  is  far 
better  than  on  the  left  hand.  The  straw  is  stiffer  and  brighter,  and 
the  heads  larger  and  heavier.  I  should  think  the  right  half  of  the 
field  will  be  ten  bushels  per  acre  better  than  the  other." 

"So  I  think,"  he  said,  "and  now  can  you  tell  me  why?" — 
"Probably  you  manured  one  half  the  field  for  turnips,  and  not  the 
other  half." — "  No." — "  You  may  have  drawn  off  the  turnips  from 
half  the  field,  and  fed  them  off  by  sheep  on  the  other  half." — "  No, 
both  sides  were  treated  precisely  alike."— I  gave  it  up — "  Well," 
said  he,  "  this  half  the  field  on  the  right-hand  was  limed,  thirty 
years  ago,  and  that  is  the  only  reason  I  know  for  the  difference. 
And  now  you  need  not  tell  me  that  lime  does  not  pay." 

I  can  well  understand  how  this  might  happen.    The  system  of 


LlilE    AS    A    MANURE.  217 

rotation  adopted  was,  1st  clover,  3d  wheat,  3d  turnips,  4th  barley, 
seeded  with  clover. 

Now,  you  put  on,  say  150  bushels  of  lime  for  wheat  After  the 
wheat  the  land  is  manured  and  sown  with  turnips.  The  turnips 
are  eaten  off  on  the  land  by  sheep ;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  on  the  half  of  the  field  dressed  with  lime  there  would  be  a 
much  heavier  crop  of  turnips.  These  turnips  being  eaten  off  by 
the  sheep  would  furnish  more  manure  for  this  half  than  the  other 
half.  Then  again,  when  the  land  was  in  grass  or  clover,  tae 
limed  half  would  afford  more  and  sweeter  grass  and  clover  than 
the  other  half,  and  the  sheep  would  remain  on  it  longer.  They 
would  eat  it  close  into  the  ground,  going  only  on  to  the  other  half 
when  they  could  not  get  enough  to  eat  on  the  limed  half.  More 
of  their  droppings  would  be  left  on  the  limed  half  of  the  field. 
The  lime,  too,  would  continue  to  act  for  several  years ;  but  even 
after  all  direct  benefit  from  the  lime  had  ceased,  it  is  easy  to  un- 
derstand why  the  crops  might  be  better  for  a  long  period  of  time. 

"  Do  you  think  lime  would  do  any  good,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  on 
our  limestone  land  ?  " — I  certainly  do.  So  far  as  I  have  seen,  it 
does  just  as  much  good  here  in  Western  New  York,  as  it  did  on 
my  father's  farm.  I  should  use  it  very  freely  if  we  could  get  it 
cheap  enough — but  we  are  charged  from  25  to  30  cts.  a  bushel  for 
it,  and  I  do  not  think  at  these  rates  it  will  pay  to  use  it.  Even  gold 
may  be  bought  to  dear. 

"You  should  burn  your  own  lime,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  you  have 
plenty  of  limestone  on  the  farm,  and  could  use  up  your  down 
wood." — I  believe  it  would  pay  me  to  do  so,  but  one  man  cannot 
do  everything.  I  think  if  farmers  would  use  more  lime  for  manure 
we  should  get  it  cheaper.  The  demand  would  increase  with  com- 
petition, and  we  should  soon  get  it  at  its  real  value.  At  10  to  15 
cents  a  bushel,  I  feel  sure  that  we  could  use  lime  as  a  manure  with 
very  great  benefit. 

"  I  was  much  interested  some  years  ago,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  in 
the  results  of  Prof.  Way's  investigations  in  regard  to  the  absorp- 
tive powers  of  soils." 

His  experiments,  since  repeated  and  confirmed  by  other  chem- 
ists, formed  a  new  epoch  in  agricultural  chemistry.  They  afforded 
some  new  suggestions  in  regard  to  how  lime  may  benefit  land. 

Prof.  Way  found  that  ordinary  soils  possessed  the  power  of  sep- 
arating, from  solution  in  water,  the  different  earthy  and  alkaline 
substances  presented  to  them  in  manure ;  thus,  when  solutions  of 
salts  of  ammonia,  of  potash,  magnesia,  etc.,  were  made  .to  filter 
10 


218  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

slowly  through  a  bed  of  dry  soil,  five  or  six  inches  deep,  arranged 
in  a  dower-pot,  or  other  suitable  vessel,  it  was  observed  that  the 
liquid  which  ran  through,  no  longer  contained  any  of  the  ammonia 
or  other  salt  employed.  The  soil  had,  in  some  form  or  other,  re- 
tained the  alkaline  substance,  while  the  water  in  which  it  was  pre- 
viously dissolved  passed  through. 

Further,  this  power  of  the  soil  was  found  not  to  extend  to  the 
whole  salt  of  ammonia  or  potash,  but  only  to  the  alkali  itself.  If, 
lor  instance,  sulphate  of  ammonia  were  the  compound  used  in  the 
experiments,  the  ammonia  would  be  removed  from  solution,  but 
the  filtered  liquid  would  contain  sulphuric  acid  in  abundance — 
not  hi  the  free  or  uncombined  form,  but  united  to  lime ;  instead  of 
sulphate  of  ammonia  we  should  find  sulphate  of  lime  in  the  solu- 
tion; and  this  result  was  obtained,  whatever  the  acid  of  the  salt 
experimented  upon  might  be. 

It  was  found,  moreover,  that  the  process  of  filtration  was  by  no 
means  necessary;  by  the  mere  mixing  of  an  akaline  solution  with 
a  proper  quantity  of  soil,  as  by  shaking  them  together  in  a  bottle, 
and  allowing  the  soil  to  subside,  the  same  result  was  obtained. 
The  action,  therefore,  was  in  no  way  referable  to  any  physical 
law  brought  into  operation  by  the  process  of  filtration. 

It  was  also  found  that  the  combination  between  the  soil  and 
the  alkaline  substance  was  rapid,  if  not  instantaneous,  partaking 
of  the  nature  of  the  ordinary  union  between  an  acid  and  an  alkali. 

In  the  course  of  these  experiments,  several  different  soils  were 
operated  upon,  and  it  was  found  that  all  soils  capable  of  profitable 
cultivation  possessed  this  property  in  a  gi eater  or  less  degeee. 

Pure  sand,  it  was  found,  di:l  not  possess  this  property.  The 
organic  matter  of  the  soil,  it  was  proved,  had  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  The  addition  of  carbonato  of  lime,  to  a  soil  did  not  increase  its 
absorptive  power,  and  indeed  it  was  found  that  a  soil  in  which  car- 
bonate of  lime  did  not  exist,  possessed  in  a  high  degree  the  power 
of  removing  ammonia  or  potash  from  solution. 

To  what,  then,  is  the  power  of  soils  to  arrest  ammonia,  potash, 
magnesia,  phosphoric  acid,  etc.,  owing?  The  above  experiments 
lead  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  due  to  the  clzy  which  they  contain. 
In  the  language  of  Prof.  Way,  however, 

"It  still  remained  to  be  considered,  whether  the  whole  clay 
took  any  active  part  in  these  changes,  or  whether  there  existed  in 
clay  some  chemical  compound  in  small  quantity  to  which  the 
action  was  due.  This  question  was  to  be  decided  by  the  extent  to 
which  clay  was  able  to  unite  with  ammonia,  or  other  alkaline 
bases;  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  idea  of  the  clay  as  a 


LIME    AS    A    MANURE.  219 

whole,  toeing  the  cause  of  the  absorptive  property,  was  inconsis- 
tent with  all  the  asceitained  laws  of  chemical  combination." 
"  After  a  series  of  experiments,  Prof.  Way  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  is  in  clays  a  peculiar  class  of  double  silicates  to  which 
the  absorptive  properties  of  soil  are  due.  He  found  that  the  double 
silicate  of  alumina  and  lime,  or  soda,  whether  found  naturally  in 
soils  or  produced  artificially,  would  be  decomposed  when  a  salt  of 
ammonia,  or  potash,  etc.,  was  mixed  with  it,  the  ammonia,  or  pot- 
ash, taking  the  place  of  the  lime  or  soia. 

Prof.  Way's  discovery,  then,  is  not  that  soils  have  "  absorptive 
properties" — that  has  been  long  known — but  that  they  absorb  am- 
monia, potash,  phosphoric  acid,  etc.,  by  virtue  of  the  double  sili- 
cate of  alumina  and  soda,  or  lime,  etc.,  which  they  contain. 

Soils  are  also  found  to  have  the  power  of  absorbing  ammonia, 
or  rather  carbonate  of  ammonia,  from  the  air. 

"  It  has  long  been  known,"  says  Prof.  Way,  "  that  soils  acquire 
fertility  by  exposure  to  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere — hence  one 
of  the  uses  of  fallows.  *  *  I  find  that  clay  is  so  greedy  of  ammonia, 
that  if  air,  charged  with  carbonate  of  ammonia,  so  as  to  be  highly 
pungent,  is  passed  through  a  tube  filled  with  small  fragments  of 
dry  clay,  every  particle  of  tin  g  is  is  arrested" 

This  power  of  the  soil  to  absorb  ammonia,  is  also  due  to  the 
double  silicates.  But  there  is  this  remarkable  difference,  that  while 
either  the  lime,  socla,  or  potash  silicate  is  capable  of  removing  the 
ammonia  from  solution,  the  lime  silicate  alone  has  ths  power  of  ab- 
sorbing it  from  the  air. 

This  is  an  important  fact.  Lime  may  act  beneficially  on  many 
or  most  soils  by  converting  the  soda  silicate  into  a  lime  silicate,  or, 
in  other  words,  converting  a  silt  that  will  not  absorb  carbonate  of 
ammonia  from  the  air,  into  a  salt  that  has  this  important  property. 

There  is  no  manure  that  has  been  so  extensively  used,  and  with 
such  general  success  as  lime,  and  yet,  "  who  among  us,1'  remarks 
Prof.  Way,  "  can  say  that  he  perfectly  understands  the  mode  in 
which  lime  acts  ?  "  We  are  told  that  lime  sweetens  the  soil,  by  neu- 
tralizing any  acid  character  that  it  may  possess;  that  it  assists  th3 
decomposition  of  inert  organic  matters,  and  therefore  increases  the 
supply  of  vegetable  food  to  plants :  that  it  decomposes  the  remains 
of  ancient  rocks  containing  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  etc.,  occurring 
in  most  soils,  and  that  at  the  same  time  it  liberates  silica  from  these 
rocks;  and  lastly,  that  lime  is  one  of  the  substances  found  uni- 
formly ana  in  considerable  quantity  in  the  ashes  of  plants,  that 
therefore  its  application  may  be  beneficial  simply  as  furnishing  a 
material  indispensable  to  the  substance  of  a  plant. 


220 


TALKS    OX    MANURES. 


These  explanations  are  no  doubt  good  as  far  as  they  go,  but 
experience  furnishes  many  facts  which  cannot  be  explained  by  any 
one,  or  all,  of  these  suppositions.  Lime,  we  all  know,  does  much" 
good  on  soils  abounding  in  organic  matter,  and  so  it  frequently 
does  on  soils  almost  destitute  of  it.  It  may  liberate  potash,  soda, 
silica,  etc.,  from  clay  soils,  but  the  application  of  potash,  soda,  and 
silica  has  little  beneficial  effect  on  the  soil,  and  therefore  we  can- 
not account  for  the  action  of  lime  on  the  supposition  that  it  ren- 
ders the  potash,  soda,  etc.,  of  the  soil  available  to  plants.  Further- 
more, lime  effects  great  good  on  soils  abounding  in  salts  of  lime, 
and  therefore  it  cannot  be  that  it  operates  as  a  source  of  lime  for 
the  structure  of  the  plant. 

None  of  the  existing  theories,  therefore,  satisfactorily  account 
for  the  action  of  lime.  Prof.  Way's  views  are  most  consistent  with 
the  facts  of  practical  experience ;  but  they  are  confessedly  hypo- 
thetical ;  and  his  more  recent  investigations  do  not  confirm  the 
idea  that  lime  acts  beneficially  by  converting  the  soda  silicate  into 
the  lime  silicate. 

Thus,  six  soils  were  treated  with  lime  water  until  they  had  ab- 
sorbed from  one  and  a  half  to  two  per  cent  of  their  weight  of  lime. 
This,  supposing  the  soil  to  be  six  inches  deep,  would  be  at  the  rate 
of  about  300  bushels  of  lime  per  acre.  The  amount  of  ammonia  in 
the  soil  was  determined  before  liming,  after  liming,  and  then  after 
being  exposed  to  the  fumes  of  carbonate  ammonia  until  it  had  ab- 
sorbed as  much  as  it  would.  The  following  table  exhibits  the  results: 


No.  1. 

No.  2. 

No.  3. 

No.  4. 

No.  5. 

No.  6. 

Ammonia    in    1,030  prains  of  natural 
soil 

0  293 

0  181 

0  035 

0  109 

0  127 

0  033 

Ammonia  in  1,OOJ  grains  of  soil  after 
liming  
Ammonia  in  1.000  grains  of  soil  after 
liming  and  exposure  to  the  vapor  of 
ammonia  

0.169 

2  226 

0.102 
2  06G 

0.040 
3  297 

0.050 
1.07G 

3.265 

0.051 
1.827 

Ammonia  in  1,0)0  grains  of  soil  after 
exposure  to  ammonia  without  liming. 

1.S06 

2.557 

3.286 

1.097 

2.G15 

2.023 

No.  1.  Surface  soil  of  London  clay. 

No.  2.  Same  soil  from  1^  to  2  feet  below  the  surface. 

No.  3.  Same  soil  £$  feet  below  the  surface. 

No.  4.  Loam  of  tertiary  drift  4  feet  below  the  surface. 

No.  5.  Gau'tclay— surface  soil. 

No.  6.  Graltclay  4  feet  below  the  surface. 

It  is  evident  that  lime  neither  assisted  nor  interfered  with  the 
absorption  of  ammonia,  and  hence  the  beneficial  effect  of  liming 
on  such  soils  must  be  accounted  for  on  some  other  supposition. 
This  negative  result,  however,  docs  not  disprove  the  truth  of  Prof. 
"Way's  hypothesis,  for  it  may  be  that  the  silicate  salt  in  the  natural 
soils  was  that  of  lime  and  not  that  of  soda.  .  Indeed,  the  extent  to 


LIME    AS    A    MANURE.  221 

which  the  natural  soils  absorbed  ammonia — equal,  in  No.  3.  to 
about  7,000  Ibs.  of  ammonia  per  acre,  equivalent  to  the  quantity 
contained  in  700  tons  of  barn-yard  manure — shows  this  to  have 
been  the  case. 

The  lime  liberated  one-Mlf  the  ammonia  contained  in  the  soil. 

"  This  resu  t,"  says  Prof.  Way,  "  is  so  nearly  the  same  in  all 
cases,  that  we  are  justified  in  believing  it  to  be  due  to  some  special 
cause,  and  probably  it  arises  from  the  existence  of  some  compound 
silicates  containing  ammonia,  of  which  lime  under  the  circum- 
stances can  replace  one-half — forming,  for  instance,  a  double  sili- 
cate of  alumina,  with  half  lime  and  half  ammonia — such  com- 
pounds are  not  unusual  or  new  to  the  chemist." 

This  loss  of  ammonia  from  a  heavy  dressing  of  lime  is  very 
great.  A  soil  five  inches  deep,  weighs,  in  round  numbers,  500  tons, 
or  1,000,000  Ibs.  The  soil,  No.  1,  contained  .0293  per  cent  of  am- 
monia, or  in  an  acre,  five  inches  deep,  293  Ibs.  After  liming,  it 
contained  .0169  per  cent,  or  in  an  acre,  five  inches  deep,  169  Ibs. 
The  loss  by  liming  is  124  Ibs.  of  ammonia  per  acre.  This  is  equal 
to  the  quantity  contained  in  1200  Ibs.  of  good  Peruvian  guano,  or 
12£  tons  of  barn-yard  manure. 

In  commenting  on  this  great  loss  of  ammonia  from  liming, 
Prof.  Way  observes : 

"  Is  it  not  possible,  that  for  tho  profitable  agricultural  use,  the 
ammonia  of  the  soil  is  too  tightly  locked  up  in  it  ?  Can  we  sup- 
pose that  the  very  powers  of  tho  soil  to  unite  with  and  preserve 
the  elements  of  manure  arc,  however  excellent  a  provision  of 
nature,  yet  in  somo  degree  opposed  to  the  growth  of  the  abnormal 
crops  which  it  is  the  business  of  the  farmer  to  cultivate  ?  There 
is  no  absolute  reason  why  such  should  not  be  tho  case.  A  provision 
of  nature  must  relate  to  natural  circumstances ;  for  instance,  con* 
pounds  of  ammonia  may  be  found  in  the  soil,  capable  of  giving  out 
to  the  agencies  of  water  and  air  quite  enough  of  ammonia  for  the 
growth  of  ordinary  plants  and  the  preservation  of  their  species ; 
but  this  supply  may  be  totally  inadequate  to  the  necessities  of  man. 
*  *  -  Now  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  laws  which  preserve  the 
supply  of  vegetable  nutrition  in  the  soil,  are  too  stringent  for  the 
requirements  of  an  unusual  and  excessive  vegetation,  such  as  the 
cultivator  must  promote. 

"  In  the  case  of  ammonia  locked  up  in  the  soil,  lime  may  be  the 
remedy  at  the  command  of  t:ic  farmer — his  means  of  rendering 
immediately  available  stores  of  wealth,  which  can  otherwise  only 
slowly  be  brought  into  uso. 

"  In  this  view,  lime  would  well  deserve  the  somewhat  vague 


222  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

name  that  has  been  given  it,  namely,  that  of  a  '  stimulant ' ;  for  its 
application  would  be  in  some  sort  an  application  of  ammonia, 
\vhile  its  excessive  application,  by  driving  off  ammonia,  would 
lead  to  all  the  disastrous  effects  which  are  so  justly  attributed  to  it. 
"I  do  not  wish  to  push  this  assumption  too  far,"  says  Prof. 
Way,  in  conclusion,  "  but  if  there  be  any  truth  in  it,  it  points  out 
the  importance  of  employi  ^g  lime  in  small  quantities  at  short  in- 
tervals, rather  than  in  large  doses  once  in  many  years." 


"  The  Squire,  last  year,"  said  the  Deacon,  "drew  several  hundred 
bushels  of  refuse  lime  from  the  kila,  and  mixed  it  with  his  ma- 
nure. It  made  a  powerful  smell,  and  not  an  agreeable  one,  to  the 
passers  by.  He  put  the  mixture  on  a  twenty-acre  field  of  wheat, 
and  he  said  he  was  going  to  beat  you." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  so  I  understood — but  he  did  not  do  it.  If  he 
had  applied  the  lime  and  the  manure  separately,  he  would  have 
stood  a  better  chance ;  still,  there  are  two  sides  to  the  question. 
I  should  not  think  of  mixing  lime  with  good,  rich  farm-yard  ma- 
nure; but  with  long,  coarsa,  strawy  manure,  there  would  be  less 
injury,  and  possibly  some  advantage." 

"The  Squire,"  said  the  Deacon,  "got  one  advantage.  He  bad 
not  much  trouble  in  drawing  the  manure  about  the  land.  There 
was  not  much  of  it  left." 

Lime  does  not  always  decompose  organic  matter.  In  certain 
conditions,  it  will  preservs  vegetable  substances.  We  do  not  want 
to  mix  lime  with  manure  in  order  to  preserve  it;  and  if  our  object 
is  to  increase  fermentation,  we  must  be  careful  to  mix  sufficient  soil 
with  the  manure  to  keep  it  moist  enough  to  retain  the  liberated 
ammonia. 

Many  farmers  who  use  lime  for  the  first  time  on  wheat,  are  apt 
to  feel  a  little  discouraged  in  the  spring.  I  have  frequently  seen 
limed  wheat  in  the  spring  look  worse  than  where  no  lime  was 
used.  But  wait  a  little,  and  you  will  see  a  change  for  the  better, 
and  at  harvest,  the  lime  will  generally  give  a  good  account  of  itself. 

There  is  one  thing  about  lime  which,  if  generally  true,  is  an  im- 
portant matter  to  our  wheat-growers.  Lime  is  believed  to  hasten 
the  maturity  of  the  crop.  "  It  is  true  of  nearly  all  our  cultivated 
crops,"  says  the  late  Professor  Johnston,  "  but  especially  of  those 
of  wheat,  that  their  full  growth  is  attained  more  speedily  when 
the  land  is  limed,  and  that  they  are  ready  for  the  harvest  from 
ten  to  fourteen  days  earlier.  This  is  the  case  even  with  buck- 


LIME    AS    A    MANURE.  223 

wheat,  which-  becomes  sooner  ripe,  though  it  yields  no  larger  a 
return  wheii  liine  is  applied  to  the  land  on  which  it  is  grown." 

In  districts  where  the  midge  affects  the  wheat,  it  is  exceedingly 
important  to  get  a  variety  of  wheat  that  ripens  early;  and  if  lime 
will  favor  early  maturity,  without  checking  the  growth,  it  will  be 
of  great  value. 

A  correspondent  in  Delaware  writes :  "I  have  used  lime  as  a 
manure  in  various  ways.  For  low  land,  the  best  way  is,  to  sow  it 
broadcast  while  the  vegetation  is  in  a  green  state,  at  the  rate  of  40 
or  50  bushels  to  the  acre ;  but  if  I  can  not  use  it  before  the  frost 
kills  the  vegetation,  I  wait  until  the  land  is  plowed  in  the  spring, 
when  I  spread  it  on  the  plowed  ground  in  about  the  same  quantity 
as  before.  Last  year,  I  tried  it  both  ways,  and  the  result  was,  my 
crop  was  increased  at  least  fourfold  in  each  instance,  but  that 
used  on  the  vegetation  was  best.  The  soil  is  a  low,  black  sand." 

A  farmer  writes  from  New  Jersey,  that  he  has  used  over 
6,000  bushels  of  Jime  on  his  farm,  and  also  considerable  guano  and 
phosphates,  but  considers  that  the  lime  has  paid  the  best.  His 
farm  has  more  than  doubled  in  real  value,  and  he  attributes  this 
principally  to  the  use  of  lime. 

"  We  lime,"  he  says,  "  whenever  it  is  convenient,  but  prefer  to 
put  it  on  at  least  one  year  before  plowing  the  land.  We  spread 
from  25  to  40  bushels  of  lime  on  the  sod  in  the  fall ;  plant  with 
corn  the  following  summer ;  next  spring,  sow  with  oats  and 
clover;  and  the  next  summer,  plow  under  the  clover,  and  sow 
with  wheat  and  timothy.  We  have  a  variety  of  soils,  from  a 
sanely  loam  to  a  stiff  clay,  and  are  certain  that  lime  will  pay  on 
all  or  any  of  them.  Some  of  the  best  farmers  in  our  County  com- 
menced liming  when  the  lime  cost  25  cts.  a  bushel,  and  their  farms 
are  ahead  yet,  more  in  value,  I  judge,  than  the  lime  cost.  The 
man  who  first  commences  using  lime,  will  get  so  far  ahead,  while 
his  neighbors  are  looking  on,  that  they  will  never  catch  up." 

Another  correspondent  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  writes:  "Ex- 
perience has  taught  me  that  the  best  and  most  profitable  mode  of 
applying  lime  is  on  grass  land.  If  the  grass  seed  is  sown  in  the 
fall  with  the  wheat  or  rye,  which  is  the  common  practice  with  us 
in  New  Jersey,  as  soon  as  the  harvest  comes  off  the  next  year,  we 
apply  the  lime  with  the  least  delay,  and  while  fresh  slacked  and  in 
a  dry  nnd  mealy  state.  It  can  be  spread  more  evenly  on  the 
ground,  and  is  in  a  state  to  be  more  readily  taken  up  by  the  fine 
roots  of  the  plants,  than  if  allowed  to  get  wet  and  clammy.  It  is 
found  most  beneficial  to  keep  it  as  near  the  surface  of  the  ground 


224  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

as  practicable,  as  the  specific  gravity  or  weight  of  this  mineral 
manure  is  so  great,  that  we  soon  find  it  too  deep  in  the  ground  for 
the  fibrous  roots  of  plants  to  derive  the  greatest  possible  benefit 
from  its  use.  With  this  method  of  application  are  connected  sev- 
eral advantages.  The  lime  can  be  hauled  in  the  fall,  after  the 
busy  season  is  over,  and  when  spread  on  the  sod  in  this  way,  comes 
in  more  immediate  contact  with  the  grass  and  grass-roots  than 
when  the  land  is  first  plowed.  In  fields  that  have  been  limed  in 
part  in  this  manner,  and  then  plowed,  and  lime  applied  to  the 
remainder  at  the  time  of  planting  with  corn,  I  always  observe  a 
great  difference  in  the  corn-crop ;  and  in  plowing  up  the  stubble 
the  next  season,  the  part  limed  on  the  sod  is  much  mellower  than 
that  limed  after  the  sod  was  broken,  presenting  a  rich  vegetable 
mould  not  observed  in  the  other  part  of  the  field." 

A  farmer  in  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  also  prefers  to  apply  lime  to  newly- 
seeded  grass  or  clover.  He  puts  on  100  bushels  of  slaked  lime  per 
acre,  either  in  the  fall  or  in  the  spring,  as  most  convenient.  He 
limes  one  field  every  year,  and  as  the  farm  is  laid  off  into  eleven 
fields,  all  the  land  receives  a  dressing  of  lime  once  in  eleven  years. 

In  some  sections  of  the  country,  where  lime  has  been  used  for 
many  years,  it  is  possible  that  part  of  the  money  might  better  be 
used  in  the  purchase  of  guano,  phosphates,  fish-manure,  etc. ;  while 
in  this  section,  where  we  seldom  use  lime,  we  might  find  it  great- 
ly to  our  interest  to  give  our  land  an  occasional  dressing  of  lime. 

The  value  of  qcick-lime  as  a  manure  is  not  merely  in  supplying 
an  actual  constituent  of  the  plant.  If  it  was,  a  few  pounds  per 
acre  would  be  sufficient.  Its  value  consists  in  changing  the  chem- 
ical aur\  physical  character  of  the  soil — in  developing  the  latent 
mineral  plant-food,  and  in  decomposing  and  rendering  available 
organic  matter,  and  in  forming  compounds  which  attract  ammonia 
from  the  atmosphere.  It  may  be  that  wre  can  purchase  this  am- 
monia and  other  plant- food  cheaper  than  we  can  get  it  by  using 
lime.  It  depends  a  good  deal  on  the  nature  and  composition  of 
the  soil.  At  present,  this  question  can  not  be  definitely  settled, 
except  by  actual  trial  on  the  farm.  In  England,  where  lime  was 
formerly  used  in  large  quantities,  the  tendency  for  some  time  has 
been  towards  a  more  liberal  and  direct  use  of  ammonia  and  phos- 
phates in  manures,  rather  than  to  develop  them  out  of  the  soil  by 
the  use  of  lime.  A  judicious  combination  of  the  two  systems  will 
probably  be  found  the  most  profitable. 

Making  composts  with  old  sods,  lime,  and  barn-yard  manure,  is 


LIME    AS    A    MANURE.  225 

a  time-honored  practice  in  Europe.  I  have  seen  excellent  results 
from  the  application  of  such  a  compost  on  meadow-land.  The 
usual  plan  is,  to  select  an  old  hedge-row  or  headland,  which  has 
lain  waste  for  many  years.  Plow  it  up,  and  cart  the  soil,  sods, 
etc.,  into  a  long,  narrow  heap.  Mix  lime  with  it,  and  let  it  lie  six 
months  or  a  year.  Then  turn  it,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  tine  and  mel- 
low, draw  it  on  to  the  land.  I  have  assisted  at  making  many  a 
heap  of  this  kind,  but  do  not  recollect  the  proportion  of  lime  used; 
in  fact,  I  question  if  we  had  any  definite  rule.  If  we  wanted  to 
use  lime  on  the  land,  we  put  more  in  the  heap ;  if  not,  less.  The 
manure  was  usually  put  in  when  th£  heap  was  turned. 

Dr.  Voelcker  analyzed  the  dry  earth  used  m  the  closets  at  the 
prison  in  Wakefield,  England.  He  found  that : 

Nitro-  Phosphor- 
gen.      Ic  Acid. 

10  tons  of  dry  earth  before  using  contained 62  -Ibs.        36  Ibs. 

10  tons  of  dry  earth  after  being  used  once  contained...  74  "  50  " 
10  tons  of  dry  earth  after  being  used  twice  contained. .  84  u  88  " 
10  tons  of  dry  earth  after  being  used  thrice  contained. 102  "  102  " 

After  looking  at  the  above  figures,  the  Deacon  remarked  :  "You 
say  10  tons  of  dry  earth  before  being  used  in  the  closet  contained 
63  Ibs.  of  nitrogen.  How  much  nitrogen  does  10  tons  of  barn- 
yard manure  contain  ?  " 

"That  depends  a  good  deal  on  what  food  the  animals  eat.  Ten  tons 
of  average  fresh  manure  would  contain  about  80  Ibs.  of  nitrogen." 

'*  Great  are  the  mysteries  of  chemistry !  "  exclaimed  the  Deacon. 
"Ten  tons  of  dry  earth  contain  almost  as  much  nitrogen  as  10 
tons  of  barn-yard  manure,  and  yet  you  think  that  nitrogen  is  the 
most  valuable  thing  in  manure.  What  shall  we  be  told  next  ?  " 

"  You  will  be  told,  Deacon,  that  the  nitrogen  in  the  soil  is  in 
such  a  form  that  the  plants  can  take  up  only  a  small  portion  of  it. 
But  if  you  will  plow  such  land  in  the  fall,  and  expose  it  to  the 
disintegrating  effects  of  the  frost,  and  plow  it  again  in  the  spring, 
and  let  the  sun  and  air  act  upon  it,  more  or  less  of  the  organic 
matter  in  the  soil  will  be  decomposed,  and  the  nitrogen  rendered 
soluble.  And  then  if  you  sow  this  land  to  wheat  after  a  good 
summer- fallow,  you  will  stand  a  chance  of  having  a  great  crop." 

This  dry  earth  which  Dr.  Vcelcker  analyzed  appeared,  he  says, 
"  to  be  ordinary  garden  soil,  containing  a  considerable  portion  of 
clay."  After  it  had  been  passed  once  through  the  closet,  one  ton 
of  it  was  spread  on  an  acre  of  grass-land,  which  produced  2  tons 
8  cwt.  of  hay.  In  a  second  experiment,  one  ton,  once  passed 
through  the  closet,  produced  2  tons  7  cwt.  of  hay  per  acre.  We 
are  not  told  how  much  hay  the  land  produced  without  any  dress- 


226  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

ing  at  all.  Still  we  may  infer  that  this  top-dressing  did  considera- 
ble good.  Of  one  thing,  however,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  This  one 
ton  of  earth  manure  contained  only  1£  Ib.  more  nitrogen  and  lt}lb. 
more  phosphoric  acid  than  a  ton  of  the  dry  earth  itself.  Why 
then  did  it  prove  so  valuable  as  a  top-dressing  for  grass  ?  I  will 
not  say  that  it  was  due  solely  to  the  decomposition  of  the  nitro- 
genous matter  and  other  plant-food  in  the  earth,  caused  by  the 
working  over  and  sifting  and  exposure  to  the  air,  and  to  the  action 
of  the  night-soil.  Still  it  would  seem  that,  so  far  as  the  beneficial 
effect  was  due  to  the  supply  of  plant-food,  we  must  attribute  it  to 
the  earth  itself  rather  than  -to  the  small  amount  of  night-soil 
which  it  contained. 

It  is  a  very  common  thing  in  England,  as  I  have  said  before,  for 
farmers  to  make  a  compost  of  the  sods  and  earth  from  an  old 
hedge-row,  ditch,  or  fence,  and  mix  with  it  some  lime  or  barn- 
yard manure.  Then,  after  turning  it  once  or  twice,  and  allow- 
ing it  to  remain  in  the  heap  for  a  few  months,  to  spread  it  on 
meadow-land.  I  have  seen  great  benefit  apparently  derived  from 
such  a  top-dressing.  The  young  grass  in  the  spring  assumed  a 
rich,  dark  green  color.  I  have  observed  the  same  effect  where 
ccal-ashcs  were  spread  on  grass-land;  and  I  have  thought  that 
the  apparent  benefit  was  duo  largely  to  the  material  acting  as  a 
kind  of  mulch,  rather  than  to  :.ts  supplying  plant-food  to  the  grass. 

I  doubt  very  much  whether  we  can  afford  to  make  such  a  com- 
post of  earth  with  lime,  ashes,  or  manure  in  this  countiy.  But  I 
feel  sure  that  those  of  us  having  rich  clay  land  containing,  in  an 
inert  form,  as  much  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  aci:l  as  Dr.  Vceloker 
found  in  the  soil  to  be  used  in  the  earth-closet  at  Wakefiekl,  can 
well  afford  to  stir  it  freely,  and  expose  it  to  the  disintegrating  and 
decomposing  action  of  the  atmosphere. 

An  acre  of  dry  soil  six  inches  deep  weighs  about  1,000  tons;  and 
consequently  an  acre  of  such  soil  as  we  are  talking  about  would 
contain  6,200  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  and  3,600  Ibs.  of  phosphoric  acid.  In 
other  words,  it  contains  to  tho  depth  of  only  six  inches  ns  much 
nitrogen  as  would  be  furnished  by  775  tons  of  common  barn-yard 
manure,  and  as  much  phosphoric  acid  as  900  tons  of  manure. 
With  such  facts  as  these  before  us,  am  I  to  blame  for  urging  farmers 
to  cultivate  their  bncl  more  thoroughly?  I  do  not  know  thnt  my 
land  or  the  Deacon's  is  as  rich  as  this  English  soil ;  but,at  any  rate, 
I  see  no  reason  why  such  should  not  be  the  case. 


MANURES    FOR    BARLEY.  227 

CHAPTER     XXIX. 
MANURES    FOR    BARLEY. 

Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert  have  published  the  results  of  experi- 
ments with  different  manures  on  barley  grown  annually  on  the 
same  land  for  twenty  years  in  succession.  The  experiments  com- 
menced in  1852. 

The  soil  is  of  the  same  general  character  as  that  in  the  field  on 
the  same  farm  where  wheat  was  grown  annually  for  so  many 
years,  and  of  which  we  have  given  such  a  full  account.  It  is  what 
we  should  call  a  calcareous  clay  loam.  On  my  farm,  we  have 
what  the  men  used  to  call  "  clay  spots."  These  spots  vary  in  size 
from  two  acres  down  to  the  tenth  of  an  acre.  They  rarely  pro- 
duced even  a  fair  crop  of  corn  or  potatoes,  and  the  barley  was  sel- 
dom worth  harvesting.  Since  I  have  drained  the  land  and  taken 
special  pains  to  bestow  extra  care  in  plowing  and  working  these 
hard  and  intractable  portions  of  the  fields,  the  "clay  spots"  have 
disappeared,  and  are  now  nothing  more  than  good,  rather  stiff,  clay 
loam,  admirably  adapted  for  wheat,  barley,  and  oats,  and  capable 
of  producing  good  crops  of  corn,  potatoes,  and  mangel-wurzels. 

The  land  on  which  Mr.  Lawes'  wheat  and  barley  experiments 
were  made  is  not  dissimilar  in  general  character  from  these  "clay 
spots."  If  the  land  was  only  half-worked,  we  should  call  it  clay; 
but  being  thoroughly  cultivated,  it  is  a  good  clay  loam.  Mr. 
Lawes  describes  it  as  "  a  somewhat  heavy  loam,  with  a  subsoil  of 
raw,  yellowish  red  clay,  but  resting  in  its  turn  upon  chalk,  which 
provides  good  natural  drainage." 

The  part  of  the  field  devoted  to  the  experiments  was  divided 
into  24  plots,  about  the  fifth  of  an  acre  each. 

Two  plots  were  left  without  manure  of  any  kind. 

One  plot  was  manured  every  year  with  14  tons  per  acre  of  farm- 
yard manure,  and  the  other  plots  "  with  manures,''  to  quote  Dr. 
Gilbert,  "  which  respectively  supplied  certain  constituents  of  farm- 
yard manure,  separately  or  in  combination." 

In  England,  the  best  barley  soils  are  usually  lighter  than  the 
best  wheat  soils.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  barley 
usually  follows  a  crop  of  turnips— more  or  less  of  which  are  eaten 
off  on  the  land  by  sheep.  The  trampling  of  the  sheop  compresses 
the  soil,  and  makes  even  a  lirrht,  sandy  one  firmer  in  texture. 

In  this  country,  our  best  wheat  laud  is  also  oar  best  barley 
land,  provided  it  is  in  good  heart,  and  is  very  thoroughly  worked. 


228 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


It  is  no  use  sowing  barley  on  heavy  land  half  worked.  It  will  do 
better  on  light  soils  ;  but  if  the  clayey  soils  are  made  fine  and  mel- 
low, they  produce  with  us  the  best  barley. 

In  chemical  composition,  barley  is  quite  similar  to  wheat.  Mr. 
Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert  give  the  composition  of  a  wheat-crop  of  30 
bushels  per  acre,  1,800  Ibs.  of  grain,  and  8,000  Ibs.  of  straw;  and 
of  a  crop  of  barley,  40  bushels  per  acre,  2,080  Ibs.  grain,  and  2,500 
Ibs.  of  straw,  as  follows : 


In  Grain. 

In  Straw. 

In  Total  Produce. 

Wheat. 

Barley. 

Wheat. 

-Bar/ei/. 

Wheat. 

Barley. 

Nitrogen  

Ibs. 
32. 
16. 
9.5 
1. 
3.5 
0.5 

Ibs. 
33. 
17. 
11.5 
1.5 
4. 
12. 

Ibs. 
13. 
7. 
20.5 
9. 
3. 
99.5 

Ibs. 
12. 
5. 
18.5 
10.5 
2.5 
6:5. 

Ibs. 
45. 
23. 
30. 
10. 
6.5 
100. 

Ibs. 
45. 
22. 
30. 
12. 
6.5 
75. 

Phosphoric  acid. 
Potash  . 

Lime         .... 

Magnesia  

Silica  

A  few  years  ago,  when  the  midge  destroyed  our  wheat,  many 
farmers  in  Western  New  York  raised  "winter  barlej',"  instead  of 
*'  v'inter  wheat,"  and  I  have  seen  remarkably  heavy  crops  of  this 
winter  barley.  It  is  not  now  grown  with  us.  The  maltsters  would 
not  pay  as  much  for  it  as  for  spring  barley,  and  as  the  midge 
troubles  us  less,  our  farmers  are  raising  winter  wheat  again. 

Where,  as  with  us,  we  raise  winter  wheat  and  spring  barley,  the 
difference  between  the  two  crops,  taking  the  above  estimate  of 
yield  and  proportion  of  grain  to  straw,  would  be : 

1st.  Almost  identical  composition  in  regard  to  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  potash,  lime,  and  magnesia ;  but  as  it  has  more  straw, 
the  wheat-crop  removes  a  larger  amount  of  silica  than  barley. 

2d.  The  greatest  difference  is  in  the  length  of  time  the  two 
crops  are  in  the  ground.  We  sow  our  winter  wheat  the  last  of 
August,  or  the  first  and  second  week  in  September.  Before  win- 
ter sets  in,  the  wheat-plant  often  throws  out  a  bunch  of  roots  a 
foot  in  length.  During  the  winter,  though  the  thermometer  goes 
down  frequently  to  zero,  and  sometimes  10°  to  15°  below  zero,  yet 
if  the  land  is  well  covered  with  snow,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
roots  continue  to  absorb  more  or  less  food  from  the  ground,  and 
store  it  up  for  future  use.  In  the  spring,  the  wheat  commences  to 
grow  before  we  can  get  the  "barley  into  the  ground,  though  not  to 
any  considerable  extent.  I  have  several  times  sown  barley  as  soon 
as  the  surface-soil  was  thawed  out  five  or  six  inches  deep,  but  with 
a  bed  of  solid  frozen  earth  beneath. 

3d.  Two-rowed  barley  does  not  ripen  as  early  as  winter  wheat, 
but  our  ordinary  six-rowed  barley  is  ready  to  harvest  the  same 
time  as  our  winter  wheat. 


MANURES    FOR    BARLEY.  £29 

4th.  We  sow  our  barley  usually  in  May,  and  harvest  it  in  July, 
The  barley,  therefore,  has  to  take  up  its  food  rapidly.  If  we  ex- 
pect a  good  growth*  we  must  provide  a  good  supply  of  food,  and 
have  it  in  the  proper  condition  for  the  roots  to  reach  it  and  absorb 
it;  in  other  words,  the  land  must  be  not  only  rich,  but  it  must  be 
so  well  worked  that  the  roots  can  spread  out  easily  and  rapidly  in 
search  of  food  and  water.  In  this  country,  you  will  find  ten  good 
wheat-growers  to  one  good  barley  grower. 

"  That  is  so,"  said  the  Deacon ;  "but  tell  us  about  Mr.  Lawes' 
experiments.  I  have  more  confidence  in  them  than  in  your  spec- 
ulations. And  first  of  all  what  kind  of  land  was  the  barley  grown 
on  ?  " 

"  It  is,"  said  I,  "rather  heavy  land — as  heavy  as  what  the  men 
call '  clay-spots,'  oa  rny  farm." 

"And  on  those  clay-spots,"  said  the  Deacon,  "you  either  get 
very  good  barley,  or  a  crop  not  worth  harvesting." 

"  You  have  hit  it  exactly,  Deacon,"  said  I.  "  The  bc-st  barley  I 
have  this  year  (1878)  is  on  these  clay-spots.  And  the  reason  is, 
that  we  gave  them  an  extra  plowing  last  fall  with  a  three-liorso 
plow.  That  extra  plowing  has  probably  given  me  an  extra  80 
bushels  of  barley  per  acre.  The  barley  on  some  of  the  lighter  por- 
tions of  the  field  will  not  yield  over  25  bushels  per  acre.  On  the 
clay-spots,  it  looks  now  (June  13)  as  though  there  would  be  over 
50  bushels  per  acre.  It  is  all  headed  out  handsomely  on  the  clay- 
spots,  and  has  a  strong,  dark,  luxuriant  appearance,  while  on  the 
sand,  the  crop  is  later  and  has  a  yellow,  sickly  look." 

"  You  ought,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  to  have  top-dressed  these  poor, 
sandy  parts  of  the  field  with  a  little  superphosphate  and  nitrate 
of  soda." 

"  It  would  liave  paid  wonderfully  well,"  said  I, "  or,  perhaps, 
more  correctly  speaking,  the  loss  would  have  been  considerably 
less.  "We  have  recently  been  advised  by  a  distinguished  writer,  to 
apply  manure  to  our  best  land,  and  let  the  poor  land  take  care  of 
itself.  But  where  the  poor  land  is  i.i  the  same  field  with  the  good, 
we  are  obliged  to  plow,  harrow,  cultivate,  sow,  and  harvest  the 
poor  spots,  and  the  question  is,  whether  we  shall  make  them  capa- 
ble of  producing  a  good  crop  by  the  application  of  manure,  or  be 
at  all  the  labor  and  expense  of  putting  in  and  harvesting  a  crop 
of  chicken-feed  and  weeds.  Artificial  manures  give  us  a  grand 
chance  to  make  our  crops  more  uniform." 

"You  are  certainly  right  there,"  said  the  Doctor,  "but  let  us 
examine  the  Rothamsted  experiments  on  barley." 

You  will  find  the  results  in  the  following  tables.     The  manures 


230  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

used,  are  in  many  respects  the  same  as  were  adopted  in  the  wheat 
experiments  already  given.  The  mineral  or  ash  constituents  were 
supplied  as  follows : 

Potash — as  sulphate  of  potash. 
Soda — as  sulphate  of  soda. 
Magnesia — as  sulphate  of  magnesia. 
Lime — as  sulphate,  phosphate,  and  superphosphate. 
PJwsphoric  add — as  bone-ash,  mixed  with  sufficient  sulphuric 
acid  to  convert  most  of  the  insoluble  earthy  phosphate  of 
lime  into  sulphate  and  soluble  superphosphate  of  lime. 
Sulphuric  acid — in  the  phosphatic  mixture  just  mentioned ;  in 
sulphates  of  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia ;  in  sulphate  of  am- 
monia, etc. 

Chlorine — in  muriate  of  ammonia. 
Silica — as  artificial  silicate  of  soda. 
Other  constituents  were  supplied  as  under : 
Nitrogen — as  sulphate  and  muriate  of  ammonia;  as  nitrate  of 

soda ;  in  farm-yard  manure ;  in  rape-cake. 
Non-nitrogenous  organic  matter,  yielding  by  decomposition,  car- 
bonic acid,  and  other  products — in  yard  manure,  in  rape-cake. 
The  artificial  manure  or  mixture  for  each  plot  was  ground  up,  or 
otherwise  mixed,  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  soil  and  turf-ashes 
to  make  it  up  to  a  convenient  measure  for  equal  distribution  over 
the  land.  The  mixtures  so  prepared  were,  with  proper  precautions, 
sown  broadcast  by  hand ;  as  it  has  been  found  that  the  application 
of  an  exact  amount  of  manure,  to  a  limited  area  of  land,  can  be 
best  accomplished  ia  that  way. 

The  same  manures  were  used  on  the  same  plot  cacli  year.    Any 
exceptions  to  this  rulo  are  mentioned  in  foot-notes. 


MANURES   FOR   BAKLEY. 


231 


EXPERIMENTS  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF  BARLEY,  TEAR  AFTER  TEAR,  ON  THE 
SAME  LAND,  WITHOUT  MANURE,  AND  WITH  DIFFERENT  DESCRIPTIONS 

OF  MANURE.    Hoos  FIELD,  ROTUAMSTED,  ENGLAND. 
TABLE  i.— SHOWING,  taken   together  with  the  foot-note*,  TJIE  DESCRIPTION  AND 

QUANTITIES  OF   THS   MANURES  APPLIED  PER  ACKS   ON   EACH  PLOT,   IX  EACH 
YEAR  OF  THE  TWENTY,  1852-1871   INCLUSIVE. 


Plots. 


[N.  B.  This  table  has  reference  to  all  the  succeeding  Tables]. 

MANUBESPEB  ACHE,  PEP.  ANNUM  (unlens  otherwise  stated 
in  the  foot-notes} . 


Plots. 


1  O.        Unmanured  continuously 1  O. 

2  O.       3>4  cvrts.  Superphosphate  of  Lime  * 2  O. 

3  o.        3JO  Ibs.  t  Sulphate  of  Potass,  100  Ibs.  i  Sulpl  ate  Soda,  100  Ibs. 

Sulphate  Magnesia 3  O. 

4  O.        209  Ibs.  t  Sulphate  Potass.  100  Ibs.  i  Sulphate  Soda,  100  Ibs.  i 

Sulphate  Magnesia, 3;^  cwts.  Superpho-p^ate !  4  O. 

1  A.        200  Ibs.  Ammonia-salts  § !  1  A. 

2  A.        20.)  Ibs.  Ammonia-salts,  3 V*  cwts.  Superphosphate !  2  A. 

3  A.        200  Ibs.  Ammonia-salts,  200  Ibs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  100  Ibs.  % 

Sulphate  Soda.  100  Ibs.  Sulphate  Magnesia 3  A, 

4  A.        200  Ibs.  Ammonia  salts,  200  IDS.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  100  Ibs.  % 

Sulphate  Soda,  l(K)  Ibs.  Sulphate  Magnesia,  3><  cwts.  Su 
perphospha'  e  4  A. 

{1  A\.     <75  Ibs.  Nitrate  Soda 1  AA. 
2  AA.     275  Ibs.  Nitrate  Soda,  3'^  cwts.  Superphosphate <•  2  AA. 
3  AA.     275  Ibs.  Nitrate  Soda,  2JO  Ibs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  li;0  Ibs.  t 
Sulphate  Soda,  100  Iba.  Sulphate  Magnesia 3  AA. 
4  AA.     275  Ibs.  Nitrate  Soda,  200  Ibs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  100  Ibs.  t 
Sulphate  Soda,  100  Ibs.  Sulphate  Magnesia,  S%  cwts.  Su- 

|    perphosphate 4  AA.j 

fl  AAS.  275  log.  Nitrate  Soda,  400  Iba.  t  Silicate  Soda 1  AAS.l 

2  AAS.  27.3  Ibs.  Nitrate  Soda,  400  Ibs.  IT  Silicate  Soda,  V/.  cwts.  Su- 

i    pe.-phosphate 12  AAS. 

I  \  3  AAS.  275  Ibs.  Nitrate  Soda,  40J  Ibs.  *F  Silicate  Soun.  2-30  Ibs.  t  Sul-l 

phate  Potass,  100  Ibs.  %  Sulphate  Socta,  100  Ibs.  Sulphate  | 

Ma,'!ie.ila 3  AAS. 

1 4  AAS.  275  Ibs.  Xirr  ito  Soda.  400  ib.s.  *[f  Silicate  Soda,  200  Ibs.  t  Sul- 
phate Poi;!ss,  100  !b.-;.  t  Sulphate  toda,  100  IDS.  Sulphate 

Ma, rnc  Li,  UK  'cwta.  Superphosphate 4  AAS. 

fl  C.       1000  IDS.  Kapc-cako '  l  C.l 

2  C.        ;100J)bs   r;;toe-ea:-:c,  3  V~  cwts.  Superphosphate i  2  C. 

•«  \  3  C.        1000  Ibs.  Rape-cake,  ,00  IDS.  t  Sulphate  Puta*.  100  Iba.  $  Sul- 

phate  Soda,  1!JO  Ibs.  >ni  phate  iJagaesia 3  C. 

(4  C.  1000  Ibs.  Kape-ca  •ce,  200  Ibs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  100  Ibs.  i  Sul- 
phate Soda,  100  Ibs  Sulphate  Magnesia,  3%  cwta.  Super- 
phosphate   4  C. 

+J.51N.        £5  Ibs.  Nitrate  Soda IN.) 

"  i  2  N.        275  Ibs.  Nitrate  Soda  (550  Ibs.  Nitrate  for  5  years,  1853, 4, 5,  6,  [  1t 

and 7) 2  N.) 

M.  10J  Ibs.  Jt  Sulphate  Sod*,  100  Ibs.  Sulphate  Magnesia,  Zy^ 
cwts.  Superphosphate  (.commencing  1855;  1852,  3,  and  4, 
uninanured) I M. 

5  0.        200  Ibs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  3%  cwts.  Superphosphate  1 2CO  Ibs. 

Ammonia-salts  also,  for  the  first  year,  1852,  only) 5  O. 

5  A.        200  Ibs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  3>£  cv,rts.  Superphosphate,  200  Ibs. 

Ammonia-salts 5  A. 

e(l         Omnanured  continuously 1)R 

6J2         Ashes   burnt-.oii  and  turf) 2J 

7  11  Tons  Farmyard-Manure I       7 

NOTSS  TO  TABI/K  I. 

*  "3V£  r.wts.  Superphosphate  of  Lime'— In  all  cases, made  from  200 Ibs.  Bone*- 
ash,  15J  Ibs.  Sulphuric  acid  sp.  gr.  1.7  'and  water1. 

t  Sulphate  Potass— 300  Ibs.  per  annum  for  the  first  6  years,  1852-7. 

i  Sulphate  Soda  -200  Ibs.  per  annum  for  the  first  6  years,  1852-7. 

§  The  "  Ammonia-salts  "—in  all  cases  equal  parts  of  Sulphate  and  Muriate  of  Am» 
monia  of  Commerce. 

II  Plou  "AA"  aud  "AAS"— first  6  years.  1852-7,  instead  of  Nitrate  of  Soda,  400 
Ibs.  Ammonia-salts  per  annum;  next  10  years,  1858-67,200  Ibs.  Ammonia-Balta  per 
annum  ;  18GS,  and  since,  275  Ibs.  Nitrate  of  Soda  per  annum.  275  Ibs.  Nitrate  of  Soda 
is  reckoned  to  c  mtaia  the  same  Amount  of  Nitrogen  as  200  IDS.  "  Ammonia-salts." 

IT  Plots  "AAS"— the  application  of  Silicates  did  not  commence  until  1864;  in 
'frl-5-6,  and  7, 200  Ibs.  Silicate  of  Soda  raid  200  Ibs.  Silicate  of  Lime  wen;  applied  per 
acre,  but  in  1303,  and  since,  400  Ibs.  Silicate  of  Soda,  tmd  no  Silicate  of  Lirne.  These 
plots  comprise,  respectively,  one  half  of  the  original  "  AA  "  plots,  and,  excepting  the 
addition  of  the  Silicates,  have  been,  and  are,  in  other  respects,  manured  in  the  same 
way  as  the  "  AA  "  plots. 

**  2000  Ibs.  Rape-cake  per  annum  for  the  first  6  years,  and  1000  Ibs.  only,  each  year 
since,  ft  300  Ibs.  Sulphate  Potass,  and  3Hj  cwts.  Superphosphate  of  Lime,  without 
Nitrate  <>f  Soda,  the  first  year  dS52);  Nitrate  alone  eaca  year  since,  ft  Sulphate 
Soda-200  Ibs.  per  annum  1S55,  C,  aud  7. 


232 


TALKS    ON    MANUIIES. 


EXPERIMENTS  ON  THE  GROWTH  OP  BARLEY,  YEAR  AFTER  YEAR,  ON 

TIOXS  OF  MANUKE,  Hoos 

TABLE  II.— DRESSED 

[N.B.  The  double  vertical  lines  show  that  there  was  a  change  in  the  descrip- 

Table  I.,  and  foot-notes 


1  O. 

2  O. 

3  O. 

4  O. 

Means 

1  A. 

2  A. 

3  A. 

4  A. 

Means 

1  AA. 

2  AA. 

3  AA. 

4  AA. 

Means 

1  AAS. 

2  AAS. 

3  AAS. 

4  AAS. 

Means. 

1  0. 

2  G. 

3  C. 

4  C. 

Means 

1  N. 

2  N. 

M. 
6  O. 

6  A. 


HARVESTS. 


1852 

1853 

1854 

1855 

1856 

1857 

1858 

1859 

1860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

bushels. 

27  '4 
23% 
23% 


23% 

33% 

30 

40% 


bush. 
25% 

3$ 

35% 

30%_ 
38% 

36  jf 
33 14 


bush,  bus  bus  bush.  bush. 
33      31     13%  j  26% 

40  c,     jg£ 

30#  J34%16%    33  ~  I    24% 
42      J37%|19%    3i)%|    30% 


33*         33% 


43* 

41% 
45  * 


33 
36% 


40% 

42^4 

41  '4 

44% 


33^ 


17 


47%  |44#'25 

00%  47%  29% 

50  44^  28% 

60%  43%  31% 


'40%  28^ 


56%  48     '8614 

63  '4  50%  31^ 

51  y,  47^25% 

63^  !49%  37% 


42%      58%    48%  32% 


35  '< 
40% 


_l_C 

60-i  |48%36% 
60%  53 '.{  37H 
56 /»  !48%  32% 
60-4  ;51%;35% 

59% 


j-  (25  X) 


32^      26^4 


42% 
57_%_ 

48% 


66!^ 
49% 
64,% 


51% 
34  '4- 


bus  bus  bus  bus  bus 

^13%  16 14  16^22% 
^8  15%  25  i21%32% 
%  1514  18%  19%  27% 
19%;  18%  29%  25%  33 

i!l5%22% 


57  % 


02  'i 
60^i 
62J4 


62  '4 


15%  26%  30^  31%  42% 
43%  55  |48%  61% 
16%  28  32%  35%  48% 
34%  43^  54%  47%  55% 


42%  25%  35%  ,43%  40%  52% 

39%  21)^  25%  35     31%  49 

50 '4  35%  43 V4  55%  51     |60# 

40%  20%  30%  36%  30%  54 

66  ^  35%  46%  55%  48%  59.% 

48%  28%  30%  45%  41%  55% 


38%  31%  OTXS .  „ 
;41     30%  56% '45 
•2"    34%  35 '4  51% '36 


157% 


53% 


55 


35     ;40%  53%  45X  54% 
37%36%54i/t41%  53% 


29 

§5* 

83 


27% 
89% 


49%    50     2S> 
6354    49%  42 


S-iPg  19% 

47%  33% 


85%    37K1KH 

a^W    ;S(il.-;   IKlf! 


* 


15% 


1* 

24^ 
81  V& 

51,% 

34% 
81% 


60%  82^    SI  % 


87% 
43% 

25% 
25% 
48% 


25% 
55 


47s  27%  384  35%  51% 
[>,^  29%  41%  38^  53% 


33^ 

17Vfi 
14% 

40 


1()V8  28%  17%  2 
49%  46%  51# 


39 
12% 


16%  18^  27% 

17%  19     28% 

54  %  49%  59% 


(l)  Averages  of  4  years,  4  years,  and  8  years.          (3)  Averages  of  9  years, 
last  10  years,  and  total  17  years.          (4)  Averages 


MANURE    FOR    BARLEY. 


233 


THE  SAME  LAND,  WITHOUT  MANUEE,  AND  WITH  DIFFEEENT  DESCBIP- 

FlELD,   ROTHAMSTED,  ENGLAND. 
CORN  PER  ACRE — bushels. 

tion,  or  quantity,  of  Manure,  at  the  period  indicated,  for  particulars  of  which  see 
thereto,  p.  231.] 


HARVESTS. 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL. 

1 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

187Q 

1871 

1* 

•|rf 

1 

bush. 
24 
30* 
26* 
33* 

L28% 

bus 
18 

P* 

24% 

bush. 

15% 
22% 
19% 
24 

bus 

17% 

3s 

20% 

bush. 

17^ 

bus 

18% 
22* 

bus 

18 

16% 

bus 

16% 
23  }3' 

25/8 

bushels. 

22% 
27% 
24% 

bush. 

173^ 
23  '4 
20* 
24% 

bushels. 
20 

25^ 

22% 
27'/2 

1  O. 

2  0. 
3  0. 
4  0. 

Means 

1  A. 
2  A. 
3  A. 
4  A. 

Means 

1  AA. 

2  AA. 
3  AA. 
4  AA. 

Means 

1  AAS. 

2  AAS. 
3  AAS. 
4  AAS. 

Means 

1  C. 
2  C. 
30. 
4  C. 

Means 

1  N. 
2N. 

M. 

5  0. 
5  A. 

2f6 
7 

21% 

20% 

19% 

16# 

5TT% 
48 
34% 
49* 

16% 

30% 
38 

21% 

30% 
45  ls' 
38* 

40^ 

26% 

21% 

23% 

43  ll 

55% 

29% 

48% 
33  -4 
46^ 

5S 
S* 

30% 
44 
33 

43,% 

20% 
37% 
25 

33% 
45% 
35 
46% 

48% 
35 
46% 

35 

40* 

49% 

39X 

38% 

37,% 

29% 

39%  34i/2 

41% 

40% 

40* 

40% 

41% 
56,% 
44% 
56% 

33% 

•*71/2 
43% 

29}/8 

50% 
29% 
50% 

29% 
4-1  'i 
32,% 
45 

27 
44 
27^ 
45% 

32% 

4814 

29*  39* 
46*  463^ 
32%  30% 
44^40 

89% 
48,% 
38% 
49,% 

84* 
49% 
36* 

37 

49  tf 
37% 

49% 

49%    41% 

40*  J38. 

36 

41 

38%  42 

35~4S% 
44%  49# 

42%  48% 
47*  48% 

44i.i 

42% 

~30~%~ 
47* 
42 
48% 

43% 

54% 
50 
59% 

34% 
41 

v* 

43% 

37%    32X 
51  %    44 
41  %    39>J 

~45%~40* 

29% 

4*? 
46% 

39% 

34% 
49% 
40^ 
51% 

'  j  43* 

37     ] 

48*  1  (i) 
42%  f  (  ' 
50     J 

52 

48i/8 
51% 
49%' 
53 

44*'42# 

48% 

4514 

43% 

441/2 

45    1  45%    38% 
40%'  47'/2    45>£ 
48%:  43%    38% 
48  %    48%    42% 

37 

35* 

42i/2  41% 
48  '4  41% 
43%  381/, 
52%  43% 

44 

41% 

45% 
47H 

47 

47% 
46j* 

43% 
45% 
43  U 

47* 

45V 
46% 
43% 

47% 

50^ 

40% 
46% 

25% 

26^ 
50% 

25% 
25% 

62 

47 

463£    41% 

35% 

46% 

41>rf 

44% 

48* 

45% 

22* 
20 

44i4 

18% 
24* 

54* 

45 

45% 

37 

39,% 

48* 

21 

19* 

52% 

34% 
41 

19 

22V 
43% 

53% 

33 

203*T 
19# 
34% 

16% 
19% 

45%' 

25% 
25% 

14% 
15 
36% 

15  \£ 

15% 

43% 

35*  34% 
33%  40* 

16%  16  * 

23%  14% 
49%  41% 

14%  15  \H 

15%  15% 

46%  47* 

V  )   (43,^1 

25 

23% 

45 

37% 
403£ 

20% 
44% 

18,% 
20 

513* 

22%)   (<) 
44% 

22 

21% 

48* 

(18&3-'61),  last  10  years,  and  total  19  years.        (•)  Averages  of  7  years  (1855-'61), 
of  9  years  (1853-'61),  last  10  years,  and  total  19  years. 


234 


TALKS  ON  MANUBES. 


EXPERIMENTS  OH  THE  GBOWTH  OF  BABLEY,  TEAR  AFTER  YEAR,  ON  THB 

MANURE.    Hoos 

TABLE  III. — WEIGHT  PEB 

(N.B.  The  doutle  vertical  lines  show  that  there  was  a  change  in  the  description, 

TaLle  L,  and  foot  notes, 


1 

HARVESTS. 

1852." 

1853 

1854 

1855 

1856 

•1857 

1858 

1859 

1860 

1861 

1862 

18G3 

1  0. 

2  0. 
3  0. 
4  O. 

Means 

1  A. 
2  A. 
3  A. 
4  A. 

Means 

1  AA. 
2  AA. 
3  AA. 
4  AA. 

Ibs. 
52.1 
52.6 
52.5 
51.5 

Iba. 
51.4 
52.6 
51.9 
52.1 

Ibs. 
53.6 
51.0 
53.6 
54.0 

Ibs. 
52.4 
52.5 
52.9 
63.1 

Ibs. 

49.1 
46.5 
48.5 
47.0 

Ibs. 
52.0 
52.8 
52.5 
53.7 

Ibs. 
53.0 
54.0 
53.5 
54.0 

Ibs. 

49.0 
52.0 
49.5 
52.5 

Ibs. 

50.8 
50.5 
60.3 
51.3 

Ibs  libs. 
52.3  50.3 
53.3  52.0 
52.8  51.8 
54.0  52.0 

Ibs. 
53.6 

54.2 
54.5 
54.8 

52.2 

52.0 

53.8 

52.7 

47.8 

48.5 
40.3 
49.1 
40.4 

52.8 

53.6 

53.0 

53.8 
54.0 
54.0 

50.8  50.7 

47.5  50.8 
51.0  61.0 
47.5  50.8 
51.0  51.1 

53.1 

51.5 
53.5 
51.5 
54.0 

51.5 

49.4 
53.5 
50.5 
54.0 

54.3 

50.7 
50.5 
50.9 
51.4 

52.4 
52.5 
52.6 
53.1 

53.6 
543 
54.0 
54.3 

54.1 

52.8 
52.4 
53.1 
52.1 

51.8 
51.3 
52.2 
52.0 

51.8 

50.6 
50.1 

50.2 
48.9 

51.9 
54.3 

52.1 
54.8 

53.6 
55.3 
54.3 
56.5 

50.9 

49.1 
40.5 
50.6 
50.6 

52.7 

51.3 
51.7 
51.3 
51.4 

47.6 

48.3 
46.1 
47.3 
43.4 

53.3 

53.7 

49.3 

47.5 
50.7 
47.5 
50.5 

50.9 

50.7 
51.3 
50.4 
51.0 

52.6 

51.9 

50.0 
54.4 
61.5 
54.0 

54.9 

53.9 
55.7 
51.5 
56.4 

5-2.0 
53.5 
52.1 
63.9 

51.8 
53.5 
51.5 
53.5 

Means 

1  AAS. 
2  AAS. 
3  AAS. 
4-AAS. 

Means 

1  C. 
2  C. 
8  C. 
4  C. 

Means 

50.0 

51.4 

52.6 

50.0 

46.8 

52.9 

53.6 

49.1 

50.9 

52.6 

52.5 

55.1 

51.7 
51.8 
51.3 
51.4 

51.3 
51.6 
51.5 
50.4 

52.9 
52.8 
52.6 

52.8 

50.5  46.1 
50.0147.3 
50.0!  40.  6 
49.5  40.3 

53.2 
63.8 
54.11 
54.11 

53.5 
52.8 
53.5 
53.1 

52.0  62.0 
51.5  61.5 
51.7  51.8 
51.0  51.1 

54.0  54.5 
54.  1!  55.3 
53.5  53.5 
54.3  54.0 

50.3 
60.4 
50.8 
56.7 

51.6 

51.2 

52.8 

50.2 

46.0 

63.8 

53.2 

51.6:51.6  54.0 

54.3 

56.6 

1  N. 
2  N. 

}  (51-7)  \ 

51.8 
49.7 

53.3 
53.1 

52.0 
50.1 

500 
48.4 

52.9 
63.0| 

53.5 
64.0 

48.0  51.0 
48.5  61.1 

62.0  51.5 
51.8  51.3 

53.4 
53.9 

M. 
5  O. 
6  A. 

(51.0)  \ 
51.0 

51.8 
62.3 

\  152.6 
53.1    52.6 
53.8    51.5 

49.3 

47.5 
40.0 

r,2.8 

63.4 
64.5 

63.6 
54.0 
64.0 

49.5  51.0 
51.0M.O 
51.0  51.2 

53.8  52.8  53.8 
53.3  51.5)54.1 
53.0  52.0  55.6 

«{k: 

5-2.0 
53.0 

50.3 
50.9 

52.8    62.5 
53.6    52.6 

BO.O 
60.0 

52.3 
62.3 

63.1 

53.1 

48.5  51.3 
47.5  51.0 

52.0  51.8  54.0 
52.0  52.0  54.1 

7 

52.8 

51.6 

53.9    62.9  47.1 

54.2 

84.5 

52.5  52.1 

54.8  54.8 

572 

(*)  Averages  of  4  years,  4  years,  and  8  years,  (a)  Averages  of  9  years 

last  10  years,  and  total  17  years.        (4)  Averages 


MANURE    FOB    BARLEY. 


235 


SAME  LAND,  WITHOUT  MANURE,  AND  WITH  DIFFERENT  DESCRIPTIONS  OF 
FIELD,  ROTHAMSTED. 

BU3HEL  OP  DRESSED  CORN — IbS. 

or  quantity,  of  Manure,  at  the  period  indicated,  for  particulars  of  which  see 
taereto,  p.  231.] 


HARVESTS. 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL. 

1851 

1865 

1836 

1837 

18G8 

1869 

1870 

1871 

<A 

I? 

•«  t> 
£5  . 

|| 

"3  •£ 

^§    . 

Total  Period 
go  Years, 
1852-  '71. 

k,N»     <%t-ii~ 

IDS.  Ibs.  Ibs. 
55.7  53.9  51.1 
5H.8  53.8  53.2 
5J/J  51.5  52.3 
57.3  54.0  ;  52.7 

Ibs. 
51.8 
53.9 
52.9 
53.6 

Ibs. 
54.3 
55.8 
55.7 
55.3 

Ibs. 
52.4 
54.3 
54.7 
54.6 

Ibs. 
52.9 
53.6 
54.3 
55.6 

Ibs. 
55.0 
£6.0 
55.4 
55.6 

Ibs. 
51.6 
52.0 
51.8 
52.3 

Ibs. 
53.1 
'   54.4 
54.3 
1  54.6 

Its. 
52.3 
53.2 
5:10 
53.4 

56.7 

54.1(52.3 

53.8  '50.9 
£2.7  51.4 
54.7  52.1 
53.5,54.7 

53.1 

55.3 

54.0 

54.1  |    55.5 

62.0    54.  1 

53.0 

52l~ 
53.5 
52.8 
£4.0 

55.4 
57.0 
56.4 

57.6 

51.3    53.3 
54.  ij    54.6 
51.9    54.8 
54.3    55.6 

52.4 
-57.0 
54.6 
57.4 

54.6 
57.2 
55.4 
57.1 

55.6 
55.0 
56.1 

56.5 

tl.2    C3.0 
fcl.8    £5.1 
tl.51   54.1 
1-2.2    55.7 

56.6 

55.5 
57.2 
56.5 
57.6 

lie/: 

56.1 
57.2 
57.2 
57.0 

"569 

53.7 

530 

52.9 

52.4 
51.1 
51.9 
54.6 

53.3 

51.6 

53.7 
55.6 
55.1 

56.0 

55.1 

55.4 

56.1 

55.8 

61.6    54.5 

53.1 

53.5  50.9 
52.3  55.0 
54.8  51.4 
53.3,55.4 

53.1 

57.2 
53.7 
57.1 

545 
56.9 
51.6 
57.1 

54.1 
£5.9 
54.3 
56.3 

DO.S 
£1.2 

to.s 

51.1 

£3.2 

;   £5.4 
53.8 
55.8 

~54.6~ 

1   54.6 
56.7 
55.5 
56.8 

~55~9 

52.0 
53.8 
52.3 
53.4 

52~S~ 
54.81 

t4(i> 

55.8  J 

53.5 

53.2 

55.3 

55.8 

55.2 

61.0 

51.2  51.8 
52.4  55.6 
54.8  52.5 
53.1  55.3 

53.5 
55.1 
53.0 
54.1 

542 
56.2 
55.5 
56.2 

54.8 
57.4 
56.6 
57.8 

55.0 
57.4 
55.9 
57.8 

54.6 
55.6 
53.8 
55.4 

f£3.9 
ml  55.1 

<  '154.4 
[54.9 

E4.G 

53.6  53.8 

53.9 

55.5 

5G.7 

56.5 

54.9 

55.2 

57.1  '538  55.1 
57  0  53.3  55.7 
57.3  53.3  55.3 
57.2  53.5,55.6 

51.4 
55.0 
54.7 
51.8 

5<>.2 
5S.1 
55.8 
55.4 

56.7 
57.1 
57.1 

57.4 

57.5 
57.8 
57.6 
58.0 

E6.3 
56.4 

5G.3 
56.4 

51.7 
51.7 
51.7 
51.4 

55.8 
50.0 
55.8 
55.9 

53.8 
5.3.9 
53.7 
53.6 

57.1  53.5 

56.0  51.1 
56,5  5J.S 

58.3  514 
67.15  51.5 
57.554.1 

58.058.9 

5.5.3  53.9 

57.4  54.4 

55.4 

54.7 

55.9 

~52.8 
53.5 

51.0 
51.4 
57.5 

53.5 
53.3 

57.1 

57.1 

57.3 
54.8 

540 
55.6 
57.5 

52.8 
52.9 

564 

57.7 

56.4 

51.6 

55.9 

53.8 

510 
52.8 

52.9 
53.4 
54.8 

51.3 
51.8 

54.9 

53.9 
5.2.7 

53.9 
51.0 
55.2 

520 
52.5 

54.8 

55.6 
55.8 

55.3 
55.9 
57.3 

54.0 
54.6 

57.1 

54.6 
54.6 

55.0 

55.1 
55.5 

55.4 
54.9 

56.6 

«vj51.6 

(  ']51.1 

(»)  (51.8 
(*)  (52.0 
51.9 

61.fi 

51.6 

52.6 

58.7 
54  2 

54.2 
54.8 
55.7 

53.5 
58.6 

5n.O 

S?f« 

53.2)  (») 
'•3-4>  (4), 
53.8 

52.5 
52.6 

54.3 

(1853-'6D,  last  10  years,  and  tr  ta]  19  years.          (s)  Averages  of  7  years  (1855-'C1X 
of  9  years  (1853-'61),  last  10  years,  and  total  19  years. 


236 


TALKS    OX    MANURES. 


i:aENTs  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF  BARLEY,  YEAB  AFTER  TEAR,  ON  TUB 

MANURE.    Hoos 

TABLE    IT. — OFFAL 

[N.IX  The  double  vertical  lines  show  that  there  \vas  a  change  in  the  description, 

Table  /.,  and  foot-notes 


HARVESTS. 

1 

1852 

1853 

1854 

1855 

1856 

1857 

1858 

1859 

1860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1.  0. 
2.  O. 

Ibs. 
104 
100 

Ibs. 
225 

101 

Ibs. 
84 
101 

Ibs. 
144 
G9 

Ibs. 
131 
58 

Ibs. 
93 
106 

Ibs. 
86 
103 

Ibs. 
110 
15!) 

Ibs. 

78 
84 

Ibs. 

88 
78 

Ibs. 
64 

114 

Ibs. 
49 

58 

3.  0. 

183 

151 

64 

76 

129 

61 

96 

85 

78 

83 

73 

54 

4.  0. 

1$5 

160 

105 

94 

88 

53 

108 

1GO 

74 

58 

117 

57 

Means 

146 

159 

89 

96 

102 

78 

93 

129 

78 

78 

92 

55 

1.  A. 

218 

253 

£01 

138  219 

113 

98 

184  150 

170  !  269 

1lf> 

2.  A. 

260 

244 

150 

184 

121 

88 

114 

274 

159 

130  1  191 

99 

3.  A. 

252 

336 

197 

177 

180 

91 

96 

175 

115 

109 

261) 

108 

4.  A. 

273 

274 

138 

142 

125 

70 

117 

253 

150 

110 

150 

81 

Means 

231 

277 

172 

160 

161 

91 

106 

222 

143 

ISO 

220 

101 

1.  AA. 

2fi9 

303 

326 

20  1 

310 

135 

88 

215 

109 

173 

206 

110 

2.  AA. 

315 

251 

329 

181 

233 

133 

134 

320 

118 

190 

133  143 

3.  A  A. 

S18 

236 

334 

212 

2!)0 

103 

118 

2G5 

122 

138 

?.64 

95 

4.  AA. 

210 

SOI 

273 

150 

176 

183 

113 

£85 

141 

179 

191 

66 

Means 

231 

273 

316 

187  252 

140 

121 

271 

123 

170 

246  103 

1  A  AS. 

2  AAS. 

3  AAS 

4  AAS. 

Means 

1  C. 

170 

2G8 

173 

219 

17.*] 

135 

103 

225 

120 

154 

154 

85 

2  C. 

1(5-1 

370 

238 

195 

Nil 

169 

148 

171 

15G 

ir,o 

12H 

10!) 

3  C. 

190 

296 

2-18 

183 

189 

15G  | 

105 

236 

115 

204 

190 

71 

4C. 

144 

277 

227 

222 

205 

103  | 

125 

330 

153 

204 

174 

66 

Means 

1G7 

204 

223 

£05 

183 

157 

120 

246 

136  178 

161 

63 

1  N. 
2  N. 

}  (94)] 

2831 
223  1 

109 
286 

123 
224 

2-15 
193 

99 
151  | 

119 
110 

205 
235 

146 
179 

225 
190 

245 
216 

120 
114 

AI 

| 

.T> 

94 

00 

84 

85 

75 

78 

108 

46 

5  0. 
5  A. 

(173)  | 
173 

G8 
210 

113 
170 

CO 
123 

9G 
151 

101 
63 

71 
154 

110 
163 

73 

193 

73 

188 

1'Jc! 
210 

41 
81 

f  (  1 

120 

200 

144 

110 

152 

73 

84 

121 

fi8 

73 

75 

51 

6U 

113 

161 

119 

73 

1-25 

103 

81 

127 

95 

G7 

194 

G5 

7 

101 

S60 

C6 

100 

141 

131 

121 

263 

147 

190 

208 

GO 

(M  Averages  of  4  years,  4  years,  and  8  years.  (-)  Avcrajrs  o'  9  years 

last  10  years,  and  total  17  years.    (4)  Averages 


MANURE    FOR    BARLEY. 


237 


LAND,  WITHOUT  MANURE,  AND  WITH  DIFFERENT  DESCRIPTIONS  OF 
FIELD,  ROTHAMSTED. 

CORN  PBU  ACRE — Ibs. 

or  quantity,  of  Manure,  at  tlie  period  indicated,  for  particulars  of  which,  see 
thereto,  p.  231.] 


HARVESTS. 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL. 

J 

\>  Ou 

IT 

1 

1864 

1865 

1868 

1867 

18G8 

1869 

1870 

1871 

if 

Ils 

is 

iS 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

TbsT 

"ibsi 

Ib7 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs" 

Ibs. 

ib~s7 

42 

47 

41 

90 

21 

44 

31     48 

120 

48 

84 

1  O. 

69 

38 

21 

f.3 

20 

80 

18     33 

86 

52 

74 

2  0. 

43 

38 

33 

G4 

27 

70 

18 

35 

101 

46 

74 

3  O. 

41 

28 

55 

60 

25 

69 

26 

48 

104 

53 

78 

40. 

49 

38 

39 

67 

25 

63 

23 

41 

105 

50 

78 

Means 

99 

53 

94 

115 

40 

139 

2:)    If  5 

174 

107 

141 

1  A. 

63 

8t 

76 

33 

113 

2(5    169 

172 

S4 

188 

2  A. 

83 

51 

106 

94 

34 

95 

24 

89 

173 

95 

134 

3  A. 

110 

CO 

63 

71 

50 

21 

27    146 

1C5 

78 

122 

4  A. 

89 

63 

82 

89 

43 

92 

25    132 

171 

94  * 

1G3 

Means 

110 

64 

143 

110 

46 

64 

33    ia3 

216 

111 

164 

1  AA. 

50 

111 

09 

4(5 

89 

24    1G3 

220 

95 

153 

2  AA. 

76 

48 

103    10« 

£9    111 

?6    133 

214 

113 

164 

3  AA. 

46 

76 

133  ^19 

43 

78 

30 

90 

2C8 

67 

148 

4  AA. 

71 

75 

124 

101 

48     86 

31    131 

215        102 

159 

Means 

94 

55 

F8 

85 

4!)    121 

33     94 

f  81      I    74 

77  ~j 

1  AAS. 

53 

sr> 

9fi 

G'i 

64      60 

23 

15:5 

I    7'"> 

75 

2  AAS. 

70 

50 

141 

79 

£9    130 

2-) 

1f.O 

(1)1    85 

84 

85  1  ^ 

3  AAS. 

93 

70 

80 

93 

48  125 

20 

175 

93 

89  J 

4  AAS. 

77 

65 

101 

81 

50    111 

28 

1S8 

81 

82 

IS 

Means 

78 

83 

104   109 

43     C9 

25 

78 

175 

83 

129 

1  C. 

92 

44 

R9 

89 

6t    111 

24 

88 

113 

84 

133 

2  C. 

90 

66 

04 

91 

3.)     91 

37 

141 

102 

91 

112 

3  U. 

123 

69 

128 

72 

42      67 

28 

124  | 

£03 

89 

1-19 

4  C. 

96 

66 

104 

90 

47     85 

28 

103 

192 

67 

1E9 

Means 

74 
S3 

93 

84 

194 

104 

119 
83 

61 
35 

150 
98 

33 
33 

9') 

171 

«H&- 

112 
104 

18  }« 

1  N. 
2N. 

RS 

GO 

44 

5f> 

20 

61 

25 

58 

(3)     (77 

64 

60)  (3) 

M. 

78 

as 

48 

5(5 

20      75 

23 

41 

(«)     (81 

61 

72)  C* 

5  0. 

91 

94 

53 

74 

63 

30 

M4 

100 

87 

124 

5  A. 

51 

45 

72 

103 

27 

71 

26 

50 

117 

57 

87 

]  1 

54 

47 

51 

83 

21 

57 

23 

41 

107 

64 

85 

2[6 

117 

r>6 

148 

111 

48    100 

23 

171 

156 

105 

ro 

7 

(1853-61),  last  10  ypars,  and  total  19  years.        (3)  Averages  of  7  years  (1855-'C1), 
of  U  years  (1S53-'61),  last  10  years,  and  total  19  years. 


238 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


EXPERIMENTS  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF   BARLEY,  YEAR   AFTER  TEAR,  ON  THB 

MANURE.     Hoos 

TABLE    V.— STRAW 

N.B.  The  double  vertical  lines  show  that  there  was  a  change  in  the  descrip- 

Table  2.,  and  foot  notes 


1 

1  0. 
2  0. 
3  0. 
4  0. 

Means 

1  A. 
2  A. 
3  A. 
4  A. 

HARVESTS. 

1852 

1853 

cwts. 

18 
17% 
17  '4 
20  Yt 

1854 

1855 

1856 

1857 
cwts. 

i7\8! 

1858 

1859 

cwt 
U% 

1860 

cwt 

7^ 

9% 

1861 

cwt 
11 
13* 

15% 
12% 

30J/2 

1862 

cwt 

9% 

10% 
13^8 

20% 

**•)  .'- 

31% 

1S63 

Cwts. 
16% 

cwts. 

23  v; 
20% 

23% 

cwt  cwt 

17%  i  8% 
17%  1  8% 

IS       9% 
17%  ~9~ 

cwts. 
10% 

cwt 

15% 
13% 

15% 

17J4 

mi 

15% 

18Mi 

28% 
17% 
29% 

10% 

13% 

34''" 

20  ^ 
32 

22% 
26 

23% 

27% 

23% 

!-# 

26% 

30  % 

40% 

24%  17% 
29%  21* 
27^  17% 
31     21  \.i 

2"^ 

27% 

24% 

27  "4 

14% 

Means 

23% 

2o>4 

36%    23     |19* 

23j<< 

22% 

19,14 

20% 

25%  26%  23% 

1  AA. 
2  AA. 
3  AA. 

4  AA. 

28% 
28% 

28% 

25% 
28% 

27ki 
31% 

37%    34''*  -2(5% 
49       39%  33 

23  '/? 
36  14 

'22% 
35% 

Sf/i!  21  4 
16%  18  % 
30%  29 

22     21  M  25% 

31%  31  '2  3^X 
24%  24  ?i  27% 
33%  33H  34% 

Means 

1  AAS. 

2  AAS. 
S  AAS. 
4.  AAS. 

Means 

1  C. 
2  C. 
3  C. 
4  C. 

Moans 

1  N. 
2  N. 

23% 

42  '-4    36% 

28% 

29% 

27^ 

21% 

21  14 

27,% 

21  % 

SO 

24% 

f\y 

24% 

36% 

35% 
37% 

28 

31* 

26  }f? 

30% 

co?J 

33 

26% 

2-^ 

30% 
31 

26 

2734 
23-ii 
28Jb 

28% 

lr* 

30% 

26% 
25% 

44j| 

30% 
3^3 

17% 
20% 
20^ 
•2-2% 

J-  (15,  '4)] 

26  '4 

42%    36* 

28%  j  32% 
28%    82/8| 

32%    2794  20% 

30 

26^ 

24* 

21% 

29% 
29% 

33%    27 

38  '4    33  J4 

20% 
23% 

18%  16% 
21  £  18% 

27  14 
29% 

M. 

6  0. 
5  A. 

(25%)  \ 
25% 

24* 

20  '4    14-'' 
83&    31 

!| 

10% 
1314 
27% 

11 

26% 

25* 

15% 
31% 

10  v 

31% 

15* 
3-i 

•U 

14% 

15% 

25^    18% 

8 

14% 

11% 

11  ^ 

10 

7% 

9% 
10 

11% 

13  Yz 
14% 

7                   18M"         225Y      ST1*    27><f  19%    23%      31% 

2S><  2:")sx.<  31  ?;!  Sl^  :>}% 

C1)  Averages  of  4  years,  4  years,  and  8  years. 

last  10  years,  and  total 


i2)  Averages  of  9  years 
17  years.       (4)  Averages 


MANUEE   FOE   BAELEY. 


239 


SAME  LAND,  WITHOUT  MANUKB,  AND  WITH  DIFFERENT  DESCRIPTIONS  OF 

FIELD,  ROTHAMSTED. 

(AND  CHAFF)  PER  ACRE — cwts. 

tion,  or  quantity,  of  Manure,  at  the  period  indicated,  for  particulars  of  which  see 

thereto,  p.  231.] 


HARVESTS. 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL. 

i 

£S 

-S 

| 

* 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869  1870 

1871 

Is, 

"2^ 

|fe 

Cr~iri 

few 

1^? 

ej 

cwts. 

cwt  cwts 

cwt 

cwts. 

cwt 

cwt 

cwt 

cwts. 

cwts. 

cwts. 

18X 

8* 

9/4 

11% 

11 

6%  11 

13% 

1014 

11% 

1  O. 

15% 

9  2 

12% 

12% 

9% 

10% 

8     |12Js£ 

14% 

n» 

13% 

2  O. 

13  « 

10^ 

10% 

8% 

11 

8%  111^ 

13% 

10% 

3  0. 

16% 

10 

12% 

12 

10% 

12% 

9% 

14 

16% 

12% 

14% 

4  O. 

14% 

9K 

11% 

11% 

9% 

11* 

?X 

12% 

14% 

11% 

12% 

Means 

20% 

13 

15% 

17  tf 

12^ 

18* 

12%  23% 

19% 

17% 

18/2 

1  A. 

32  X 

21% 

28k? 

28  <„ 

19  % 

32     |17%;28% 

27% 

27% 

2  A. 

16 

16% 

14% 

fcO%il5 

'25% 

21% 

20% 

3  A. 

34% 

22% 

27% 

25% 

20% 

34% 

18% 

28% 

23 

28% 

4  A. 

26% 

18% 

21% 

22% 

16% 

26% 

16 

27f4 

24i/2 

23% 

23% 

Means 

88* 

16 

17% 

17* 

141/2 

21% 

17% 

26% 

24 

20% 

22% 

1  AA. 

33* 

26% 

23 

17 

28% 
18  V8 

30.% 

203.f 

16-|' 

34%  23%  32  Si 

22%  1  20%  25% 

31% 
25* 

22^ 

SO/2 
24 

2  AA. 
3  AA. 

37% 

24% 

28% 

28?* 

25% 

38%  18* 

32  ?6 

34% 

30% 

32% 

4  AA. 

30>-8 

20% 

23% 

24V4 

19% 

29*  20% 

2914 

29 

25% 

27i/4 

Means 

|26% 
33  '/2 

bo* 

|40% 

22% 
23*4 

20% 

20% 

^ 

29/2 

29  /; 

23% 
2814 

P 

26% 

23% 
87H 
30% 

17 
20% 

20% 

29% 

301/s 

8* 

131  * 

21% 
29% 

21%] 

1  AAS. 
2  AAS. 
3  AAS. 
4  AAS. 

32%    22% 

26% 

24% 

22% 

33% 

19% 

33% 

26%' 

27% 

27 

Means 

26%    21% 

24% 

25  y? 

19% 

27 

17* 

27H 

29% 

241/4 

26% 

1  C. 

31%    21% 

2414 

25  3R 

19%   183  * 

17%  27% 

30% 

26 

28% 

2  C. 

31        22 

24% 

22^" 

10%    30% 

18%  30% 

28% 

25'^ 

27% 

3  C. 

34%    22 

27% 

24% 

21%    35% 

20%  32 

3114     27% 

29% 

4  C. 

31      121% 

25%. 

24  % 

19%    31% 

18/2  29% 

30% 

25% 

28 

Means 

24  %  !l8/2 
27%    21% 

21% 
23% 

21% 
21% 

18%    24 
17%    27% 

13*  29K 
19%  31  ya 

I(2)J23% 

84V4 

Sxh 

1  N. 

2N. 

13%  1  9% 

12% 

12 

10% 

11  y 

-8%  14% 

f3)  (11% 

12% 

12%)  (3) 

M. 

14%    105^ 

10% 

10% 

8/2      15/2 

4%  13l,a 

(*)  (13% 

11% 

12%)  (<) 

50. 

33% 

24% 

28 

22% 

20% 

36% 

21%  29% 

27% 

28>* 

28 

5  A, 

13% 
13% 

8% 
8% 

10  '£ 

9/3 

9% 

10% 

10% 

9% 
10% 

7%  13 

7%  13% 

14 
13 

10% 
1114 

12% 
12% 

*}• 

I 

37%    25% 

31% 

27^ 

24%    28% 

19%  37H 

26% 

297^ 

2SJ4 

7 

(1853-61),  last  10  years,  and  total  19  yeara.          (3)  Averages  of  7  years  (1855-'61). 
of  9  years  (ISSS-'ei),  last  10  years,  and  total  19  years. 


240  TALKS    ON   MANUIiES. 

The  produce  of  barley  the  first  season  (1852),  was, per  acre: 

On  the  unmanured  plot 27$ 

With  superphosphate  of  lime 

potash,  soda,  and  magnesia 5.6  j 

"         and  superphosphate..'.     ','.  321 

14  tons  barn-yard  manure 33 

200  Ibs.  ammonia-salts  alone .'.'.'.'.'.'."  36 £ 

and  superphosphate '.'.'.I  \  \  »s* 

and  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia  36 
and  superphosphate,     potash 

,.      .„...  soda,  and  magnesia 401 

1     400  Ibs.  ammonia-salts  alone 44$ 

The  200  Ibs.  of  ammonia-salts  contain  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia=41 
Ibs.  nitrogen. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia  alone,  on  plot  la, 
gives  an  increase  of  nearly  10  bushels  per  acre,  or  to  be  more  accu- 
rate, it  gives  an  increase  over  the  unmanured  plot  of  503  Ibs.  of 
grain,  and  32S)  Ibs.  of  straw ,  while  double  the  quantity  of  ammonia 
on  plot  la.a.,  gives  an  increase  of  17£  bushels  per  acre — or  an  in- 
crease of  901  Ibs.  of  grain,  and  1,144  Ibs.  of  straw. 

"  Put  that  fact  in  separate  lines,  side  by  side,"  said  the  Deacon, 
"  so  that  we  can  see  it." 

Total 
Grain       Straw     Produce. 

50  Ibs.  of  ammonia  gives  an  increase  of 503  Ibs.    704  Ibs.  1207  Ibs 

100    "    "        "            "       "        «        »    ....  Ml    "     1144    "     2045    « 
The  first  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia  gives  an  in- 
crease of 503    "       704    "     1207    '• 

The  second  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia  gives  an  in- 
crease of COS   "      510   "      738    " 

"  That  shows,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  a  dressing  of  50  Ibs.  per 
acre  pays  better  than  a  dressing  of  100  Ibs.  per  acre.  I  wish  Mr. 
Lawes  had  sown  75  Ibs.  on  one  plot." 

I  wish  so,  too,  but  it  is  quite  probable  that  in  our  climate,  50 
Ibs.  of  available  ammonia  per  acre  is  all  that  it  will  usually  be 
profitable  to  apply  per  acre,  to  the  bailey  crop.     It  is  equal  to  a 
dressing  of  500  Ibs.  guaranteed  Peruvian  guano,  or  275  Ibs.  nitrate 
4  of  soda. — "  Or  to  how  much  manure  ? "  asked  the  Deacon. 
f     To  about  5  tons  of  average  stable-manure,  or  say  three  tons  of 
good,  well-rotted  manure  from  grain-fed  r.nimals. 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  Mr.  Lawcs  put  on  14  tons  of  yard 
manure  per  acre,  and  the  }7ield  of  barley  was  not  as  much  as  from 
the  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia  alone.  How  do  you  account  for  that?" 

Simply  because  the  ammonia  in  the  manure  is  not  ammonia.  It 
is  what  the  chemists  used  to  call  "  potential  ammonia."  A  good 
deal  of  it  is  in  the  form  of  undigested  straw  and  hay.  The  nitro- 
genous matter  of  the  food  which  has  been  digested  by  the  animal 


MANURE   FOR   BARLEY.  241 

and  thrown  off  in  the  liquid  excrements,  Is  in  such  a  form  that  it 
•will  readily  ferment  and  produce  ammonia,  while  the  nitrogenous 
matter  in  the  undigested  food  and  in  the  straw  used  for  bedding, 
decomposes  slowly  even  under  the  most  favorable  conditions;  and 
if  buried  while  fresh  in  a  clay  soil,  it  probably  would  not  all  de- 
compose in  many  years.  But  we  will  not  discuss  this  at  present. 

"  Tne  superphosphate  does  not  seem  to  have  done  much  good," 
said  the  Deacon  ;  "  3£  cwt.  per  acre  gives  an  increase  of  less  than 
two  bushels  per  acre.  And  I  suppose  it  was  good  superphosphate." 

There  need  be  no  doubt  on  that  point.  Better  superphosphate 
of  lime  cannot  be  made.  But  you  must  recollect  that  this  is  pure 
superphosphate  made  from  burnt  bones.  It  contains  no  ammonia 
or  organic  matter.  Commercial  superphosphates  contain  more  or 
less  ammonia,  and  had  they  been  used  in  these  experiments,  they 
would  have  shown  a  better  result  than  the  pure  article.  They 
would  have  done  good  in  proportion  to  the  available  nitrogen  they 
contained.  If  these  experiments  prove  anything,  they  clearly  indi- 
cate that  superphosphate  alone  is  a  very  poor  manure  for  either 
wheat  or  barley. 

The  second  year,  the  unmanured  plot  gave  25|  bushels  per  acre. 
Potash,  soda,  and  magnesia,  (or  what  the  Deacon  calls  "ashes,") 
27f  bushels ;  superphosphate  331,  and  "  ashes  "  and  superphos- 
phate, nearly  36  bushels  per  acre. 

50  Ibs.  of  ammonia,  alone,  gives  nearly  39  bushels,  and  ammonia 
and  superphosphate  together,  40  bushels. 

The  superphosphate  and  "  ashes  "  give  a  better  account  of  them- 
selves this  year ;  but  it  is  remarkable  that  the  ammonia  alone,  gives 
almost  as  good  a  crop  as  the  ammonia  and  superphosphate,  and  a 
letter  crop  than  the  ammonia  and  "  ashes,"  or  the  ammonia,  super- 
phosphate, and  ashes,  together. 

The  14  tons  farm-yard  manure  gives  over  36  bushels  per  acre. 
This  plot  has  now  had  28  tons  of  manure  per  acre,  yet  the  50  Ibs. 
of  ammonia  alone,  still  gives  a  better  yield  than  this  heavy  dress- 
ing of  manure. 

The  third  season  (1854),  was  quite  favorable  for  the  ripening  of 
wheat  and  barley.  The  seed  on  the  experimental  barley-field,  was 
sown  Feb.  24,  and  the  harvest  was  late ;  so  that  the  crop  had  an 
unusually  long  season  for  growth.  It  was  one  of  the  years  when 
even  poor  land,  if  clean,  gives  a  good  crop.  The  unmanured  plot, 
it  will  be  seen,  yielded  over  35  bushels  per  acre  of  dressed  grain, 
weighing  over  53£  Ibs.  per  bushel.  The  total  weight  of  grain,  was 
1,963  Ibs.  This  is  over  40  bushels  per  acre,  of  48ibs.  per  bushel, 
which  Is  the  standard  with  tis. 
11 


24:2  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

The  14  tons  of  farm-yard  manure  produce  nearly  56£  bushels 
per  acre. 

50  Ibs.  of  ammonia,  on  plot  la 471  bushels  per  acre. 

100    "     "          "  "     "     la.a 564      "  " 

You  will  see,  that  though  the  plot  which  has  received  42  tons  of 
manure  per  acre,  produced  a  splendid  crop ;  the  plot  having  nothing 
except  100  Ibs.  of  ammonia  per  acre,  produced  a  crop  equally  good. 
"How  much  increase  do  you  get  from  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia," 
asked  the  Deacon,  "  and  how  much  from  100  Ibs.  ?  " 

Equal  Anier. 

Grain.        titraw.        jiwshels. 

50  Ibs  of  ammonia,  gives  an  increase  of    800  Ibs.    952  Ibs.    16f  bush. 
100  il     "          '«  "        "        "         "  1,350    u    2,100    u       28      " 

If  you  buy  nitrate  of  soda  at  3f  cents  a  lb.,  the  ammonia  will 
cost  20  cents  a  lb.  In  the  above  experiment,  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia, 
costing  $10,  gives  an  increase  of  16g-  bushels  of  barley,  and  nearly 
half  a  ton  of  straw.  If  the  straw  is  worth  $4.00  per  ton,  the  barley 
will  cost  48  cents  a  bushel. 

Double  the  quantity  of  manure,  costing  $20,  gives  an  increase  of 
28  bushels  of  barley,  and  over  one  ton  of  straw.  In  this  case  the 
extra  barley  costs  57  cents  a  bushel. 

On  plot  2a.,  50  Ibs.  of  ammonia  and  3|  cwt.  of  superphosphate, 
give  8,437  Ibs.  of  grain,  equal  to  71|  of  our  bushels  per  acre. 

On  plot  %a.a.  100  Ibs.  of  ammonia  and  3£  cwt.  of  superphosphate, 
give  3,643  Ibs.  of  grain,  which  lacks  only  5  Ibs.  of  76  bushels  per 
acre,  and  nearly  2£  tons  of  straw. 

"That  will  do,"  said  the  Dea-on, "  but  I  see  that  in  1857,  this 
same  plot,  with  the  same  manure,  produced  66 §•  bushels  of  dressed 
grain  per  acre,  weighing  53^  Ibs.  to  the  bushel,  or  a  total  weight  of 
3,696  Ibs.,  equal  to  just  77  of  our  bushels  per  acre." 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  this  same  year,  the  plot  which 
had  84  tons  of  farm-yard  manure  per  acre,  produced  only  2,915 
Ibs.  of  grain,  or  less  than  61  of  our  bushels  of  barley  per  acre." 

The  Squire  happened  in  at  this  time,  and  heard  the  last  remark. 
"  What  are  you  saying,"  he  remarked,  "  about  only  61  bushels  of 
barley  per  acre.  I  should  like  to  see  such  a  crop.  Last  year,  in 
this  neighborhood,  there  were  hundreds  of  acres  of  barley  that  did 
not  yield  20  bushels  per  acre,  and  very  little  of  it  would  weigh  44 
Ibs.  to  the  bushel." 

This  is  true.  And  the  maltsters  find  it  almost  impossible  to  get 
six-rowed  barley  weighing  48  Ibs.  per  bushel.  They  told  me,  that 
they  would  pay  $1.10  per  bushel  for  good  bright  barley  weighing 
48  Ibs.  per  bushel,  and  for  each  pound  it  weighed  less  than  this, 
they  deducted  10  cents  a  bushel  from  the  price.  In  other  words, 


MANURE    FOR    BARLEY.  243 

they  would  pay  $1.00  a  bushel  for  barley  weighing  47  Ibs.  to  the 
bushel ;  90  cents  for  barley  weighing  46  Ibs ;  80  cents  for  barley 
weighing  45  Ibs.,  and  70  cunts  for  barley  weighing  44  Ibs. — and  at 
these  figures  they  much  preferred  the  heaviest  barley. 

It  is  certainly  well  worth  our  while,  if  we  raise  barley  at  all,  to 
see  if  we  cannot  manage  not  only  to  raise  larger  crops  per  acre,  but 
to  produce  barley  of  better  quality.  And  these  wonderful  experi- 
ments of  Mr.  Lawes  are  well  worth  careful  examination  and  study. 

The  Squire  put  on  his  spectacles  and  looked  at  the  tables  of 
figures. 

"Like  everybody  else,"  said  he,  "you  pick  out  the  big  figures, 
and  to  hear  you  talk,  one  would  think  you  scientific  gentlemen 
never  have  any  poor  crops,  and  yet  I  see  that  in  I860,  there  are 
three  different  crops  of  only  12  £,  12f,  and  13£  bushels  per  acre." 

"  Those,"  said  I,  "  are  the  three  plots  which  have  grown  barley 
every  year  without  any  manure,  and  you  have  selected  the  worst 
year  of  the  whole  twenty." 

u  Perhaps  so,"  said  the  Squire,  "  but  we  have  got  to  take  the 
bad  with  the  good,  and  I  have  often  heard  you  say  that  a 
good  farmer  who  has  his  land  rich  and  clean  makes  more 
money  in  an  unfavorable  than  in  a  favorable  season.  Now,  this 
year  1860,  seems  to  have  been  an  unfavorable  one,  and  yet  your 
pet  manure,  superphosphate,  only  gives  an  increase  of  148  Ibs.  of 
barley — or  three  bushels  and  4  Ibs.  Yet  this  plot  has  had  a  tre- 
mendous dressing  of  3-^  cwt.  of  superphosphate  yearly  since  1852. 
I  always  told  you  you  lost  money  in  buying  superphosphate." 

"  That  depends  on  what  you  do  with  it.  I  use  it  for  turnips,  and 
tomatoes,  cabbages,  lettuce,  melons,  cucumbers,  etc.,  and  would 
not  like  to  be  without  it;  but  I  have  never  recommended  any  one 
to  use  it  on  wheat,  barley,  oats,  Indian  corn,  or  potatoes,  except  as 
an  experiment.  What  I  have  recommended  you  to  get  for  barley 
is,  nitrate  of  soda,  and  superphosphate,  or  Peruvian  guano.  And 
you  will  see  that  even  in  this  decidedly  unfavorable  season,  the 
plot  2a.i..,  dressed  with  superphosphate  and  275  Ibs.  of  nitrate  of 
soda,  produced  2,338  Ibs.  of  barley,  or  48|  bushels  per  acre.  This 
is  an  increase  over  the  unmanured  plots  of  33£  bushels  per  acre, 
and  an  increase  of  1,872  Ibs.  of  straw.  And  the  plot  dressed  with 
superphosphate  and  200  Ibs.  of  salts  of  ammonia,  gave  equally  as 
good  results." 

And  this,  mark  yon,  is  the  year  which  the  Squire  selected  as  the 
one  most  likely  to  show  that  artificial  manures  did  not  pay. 

"  I  never  knew  a  man  except  you,"  said  the  Squire,'4  who  wanted 
unfavorable  seasons." 


244  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

I  have  never  said  I  wanted  unfavorable  seasons.  I  should  not 
dare  to  say  so,  or  even  to  cherish  the  wish  for  one  moment.  But 
I  do  say,  that  when  we  have  a  season  so  favorable  that  even  poorly 
worked  land  will  produce  a  fair  crop,  we  are  almost  certain  to  have 
prices  below  the  average  cost  of  production.  But  when  we  have 
an  unfavorable  season,  such  crops  as  barley,  potatoes,  and  beans, 
often  advance  to  extravagantly  high  prices,  and  the  farmer  who  has 
good  crops  in  such  a  season,  gets  something  like  adequate  pay  for 
his  patient  wailing,  and  for  his  efforts  to  improve  his  land. 

"  That  sounds  all  very  well,"  said  the  Squire,"  but  will  it  pay  to 
use  these  artificial  manures  ?  " 

I  do  not  wish  to  wander  too  much  from  the  point,  but  would 
like  to  remark  before  I  answer  that  question,  that  I  am  not  a 
special  advocate  of  artificial  manures.  I  think  we  can  often  make 
manures  on  our  farms  far  ch;  aper  than  we  can  buy  them.  But  as 
the  Squire  has  asked  the  question,  and  as  he  has  selected  from  Mr. 
Lawes'  results,  the  year  1860,  I  will  meet  him  on  his  own  ground. 
He  has  selected  a  season  specially  unfavorable  for  the  growth  of 
barley.  Now,  in  such  an  unfavorable  year  in  this  country,  barley 
would  be  likely  to  bring,  at  least,  $1.25  per  bushel,  and  in  a  favor- 
able season  not  over  75  cents  a  bushel. 

Mr.  Lawes  keeps  his  land  clean,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said 
of  many  barley-growers.  And  in  this  unfavorable  season  of  1860, 
b.3  gets  on  his  three  unrnanured  plots  an  average  of  730  Ibs.  of 
barley,  equal  to  15£  bushels  per  acre,  and  not  quite  800  Ibs.  of 
straw. 

Many  of  our  farmers  frequently  do  no  better  than  this.  And 
you  must  recollect  that  in  such  careful  experiments  as  those  of 
Mr.  Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert,  great  pains  would  be  taken  to  get  all 
the  barley  that  grew  on  the  land.  With  us,  barley  is  cut  with  a 
reaper,  and  admirable  as  our  machines  are,  it  is  not  an  easy  matter 
to  cut  a  light,  spindling  crop  of  barley  perfectly  clean.  Then,  in 
pitching  the  crop  and  drawing  it  in,  more  or  less  barley  is  scattered, 
and  even  after  we  have  been  over  the  field  two  or  three  times  with 
a  steel-tootU  rake,  there  is  still  considerable  barley  left  on  the 
ground.  I  think  we  may  safely  assume  that  at  least  as  much  barley 
is  left  on  the  ground  as  we  usually  sow — say  two  bushels  per  acre. 
And  so,  instead  of  having  15£  bushels  per  acre,  as  Mr.  Lawes  had, 
we  should  only  harvest  134  bushels. 

Of  all  our  ordinary  farm  crops,  barley  is  attended  with  the  least 
labor  and  expense.  We  usually  sow  it  after  corn  or  potatoes.  On 
such  strong  land  as  that  of  Mr.  Lawes,  we  ought  to  plow  the  land 


MAXUKE    FOB   BARLEY.  245 

in  the  autumn  and  again  in  the  spring,  or  at  least  stir  up  the  land 
thoroughly  with  a  two  or  three-horse  cultivator  or  gang-plow. 

Let  us  say  that  the  cost  of  plowing,  harrowing,  drilling,  and 
rolling,  is  $5.00  per  acre.  Seed,  $2.00.  Harvesting,  $2.00.  Thresh- 
ing, 6  cents  a  bushel. 

iieceipts  : 

13i  bushels  barley  @  1.25  ......  ........  $16.57 

SOU  Ibs.  of  straw  (&  $4.  per  ton  ..........       1.60 

18.17 

Putting  in  and  harvesting  the  crop  $9.00 
Threshing  13i  bushels  (a}  6  c  .......  80—9.80 

Rent  and  profit  per  acre  ..............     $  b.b7 

**  That  is  a  better  showing  than  I  expected,"  said  the  Squire, 
*•  and  as  barley  occupies  the  land  only  a  few  months,  and  ac  we 
sow  wheat  after  it,  we  cannot  expect  large  profits." 

"  Very  well,"  said  I,  "  Now  let  us  take  the  crop,  this  same  un- 
favorable year,  on  plot  20.  a.,  dressed  with  superphosphate  and 
nitrate  of  soda. 

The  expense  of  plowing,  harrowing,  drilling,  rolling,  seed,  and 
harvesting,  would  be  about  the  same,  or  we  will  say  $2.00  an  acre 
more  for  extra  labor  in  harvesting.  And  we  will  allow  two  bushels 
per  acre  for  scatterings  —  though  there  is  nothing  like  as  much 
barley  left  on  the  ground  when  we  have  a  good  crop,  as  when  we 
have  a  poor  crop.  But  I  want  to  be  liberal. 

The  yield  on  plot  2a.a.,  was  48£  bushels  per  acre,  and  2,715  Ibs. 
of  straw. 

Receipts  : 

46*  bushels®  $1.25  ........................  $58.43 

2,715  Ibs.  straw  @  $4.  per  ton  ..............  .      5.43 


Putting  in  the  crop  and  harvesting.  .  .  $11.00 
Threshing:  40*  bushels  @  6  c  ..........      2.80 

275  Ibs.  nitrate  of  soda  @  4  c  .........     11.00 

392  Ibs.  superphosphate  @  2  c  .......        7.84 

833.64 
Rent  and  profit  .....................................  $31.23 

In  ordinary  farm  practice,  I  feel  sure  we  can  do  better  than  this, 
Growing  barley  year  after  year  on  the  same  land,  is  not  the  most 
economical  way  of  getting  the  full  value  of  the  manure.  There  is 
much  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  left  in  the  land,  which  barley 
or  even  wheat  does  not  seem  capable  of  taking  up,  but  which  would 
probably  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  clover. 


£46  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

MANURE   AND   ROTATION   OF   CROPS. 

The  old  notion  that  there  is  any  real  chemical  necessity  for  a 
rotation  of  crops,  is  unfounded.  Wheat  can  be  grown  after  wheat, 
and  barley  after  barley,  and  corn  after  corn,  provided  we  use  the 
necessary  manures  and  get  the  soil  clean  and  in  the  right  mechani- 
cal condition. 

"  What,  then,  do  we  gain  by  a  rotation  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

Much  every  way.  A  good  rotation  enables  us  to  clean  the  land. 
We  can  put  in  different  crops  at  different  seasons. 

"  So  we  could,"  broke  in  the  Deacon,  "  if  we  sowed  wheat  after 
wheat,  barley  after  barley,  ana  corn  after  corn." 

True,  but  if  we  sowed  winter- wheat  after  whiter- wheat,  there 
would  not  be  time  enough  to  clean  the  land. 

"  Just  as  much  as  when  we  sow  wheat  after  oats,  or  peas,  or 
barley." 

"True  again,  Deacon,"  I  replied,  "but  we  are  supposed  to  have 
cleaned  the  land  while  it  was  in  corn  the  previous  year.  I  say  sup- 
posed, because  in  point  of  fact,  many  of  our  farmers  do  not  half 
clean  their  land  while  it  is  in  corn.  It  is  the  weak  spot  in  our 
agriculture.  If  our  land  was  as  clean  as  it  should  be  to  start  with, 
there  is  no  rotation  so  convenient  in  this  section,  as  corn  the  first 
year,  barley,  peas,  or  oats  the  second  year,  followed  by  winter- 
wheat  seeded  down.  But  to  carry  out  this  rotation  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage we  need  artificial  manures." 

"But  will  they  pay?"  asks  the  Deacon. 

"They  will  pay  well,  provided  we  can  get  them  at  a  fair  price 
and  get  fair  prices  for  our  produce.  If  we  could  get  a  good  su- 
perphosphate made  from  Charleston  phosphates  for  1£  cent  perlb., 
and  nitrate  of  soda  for  3£  or  4  cents  per  lb.,  and  the  German  pot- 
ash-salts for  f  cent  per  lb.,  and  could  get  on  the  average  $1.25  per 
bushel  for  barley,  and  $1.75  for  good  white  wheat,  we  could  use 
these  manures  to  great  advantage." 

"  Nothing  like  barn-yard  manure,"  says  the  Deacon. 

No  doubt  on  that  point,  provided  it  is  good  manure.  Barn-yard 
manure,  whether  rich  or  poor,  contains  all  the  elements  of  plant- 
food,  but  there  is  a  great  difference  between  rich  and  poor  manure. 
The  rich  manure  contains  twice  or  three  times  as  much  nitrogen 
and  phosphoric  acid  as  ordinary  or  poor  manure.  And  this  is  the 
reason  why  artificial  manures  are  valuable  in  proportion  to  the 
nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  that  they  contain  in  an  available  con- 
dition. When  we  use  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  per  acre  of  a 
good  artificial  manure  we  in  effect,  directly  or  indirectly,  convert 


MANURE    FOR   BARLEY.  247 

poor  manure  into  rich  manure.  There  is  manure  in  our  soil,  but 
it  is  poor.  There  is  manure  in  our  barn-yard,  but  it  is 
poor  also.  Nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  will  make  these 
manures  rich.  This  is  the  reason  why  a  few  pounds  of  a  good 
artificial  manure  will  produce  as  great  an  effect  a"s  tons  of  common 
manure.  Depend  upon  it,  the  coming  farmer  will  avail  himself  of 
the  discoveries  of  science,  and  will  use  more  artificial  fertilizers. 

But  whether  we  use  artificial  fertilizers  or  farm-yard  manure,  we 
shall  not  get  the  full  effect  of  the  manures  unless  we  adopt  a 
judicious  rotation  of  crops. 

When  we  sow  wheat  after  wheat,  or  barley  after  barley,  or  oats 
after  oats,  we  certainly  do  not  get  the  full  effect  of  the  manures 
used.  Mr.  Lawes'  experiments  afford  conclusive  evidence  on  this 
point.  You  will  recollect  that  in  1846,  one  of  the  plots  of  wheat 
(105),  which  had  received  a  liberal  dressing  of  salts  of  ammonia 
the  year  previous,  was  left  without  manure,  and  the  yield  of  wheat 
on  this  plot  was  no  greater  than  on  the  plot  which  was  continu- 
ously unmanured.  In  other  words,  the  ammonia  which  was  left  in 
the  soil  from  the  previous  year,  had  no  effect  on  the  wheat. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  nitrogen  furnished  by 
the  manure,  and  the  amount  recovered  in  the  crop,  when  wheat  is 
grown  after  wheat  for  a  series  of  years,  and  also  when  barley  is 
grown  after  barley,  and  oats  after  oats. 


243 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


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MANURE    FOR   BARLEY.  249 

It  is  not  necessary  to  make  any  comments  on  this  table.  It 
speaks  for  itself;  but  it  does  not  tell  "half  the  story.  For  instance, 
in  the  case  of  wheat  and  barley,  it  gives  the  average  result  for  20 
years.  It  shows  that  when  100  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  a  soluble  and 
available  form,  are  applied  to  wheat,  about  68  Ibs.  are  left  in  tlie 
soil.  But  you  must  recollect  that  100  Ibs.  was  applied  again  the 
next  year,  and  no  account  is  taken  of  the  68  Ibs.  left  in  the  soil — 
and  so  on  for  20  years.  In  other  words,  on  plot  8,  for  instance, 
2,460  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  have  been  applied,  and  only  776  Ibs.  have 
been  recovered  in  the  total  produce  of  grain,  straw,  and  chaff, 
and  1,685  Ibs.  have  been  left  in  the  soil. 

Mr.  Lawes  estimates,  from  several  analyses,  that  his  farm-yard 
manure  contains  0.637  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  2.76  per  cent  of  mineral 
matter,  and  27.24  per  cent  of  organic  matter,  and  70  per  cent  of 
water. 

According  to  this,  the  plot  dressed  with  14  tons  of  manure  every 
year,  for  20  years,  has  received  3,995  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  of  which  583£ 
Ibs.  were  recovered  in  the  produce,  and  3,411f  Ibs.  were  left  in  the 
soil. 

In  the  case  of  barley,  3,995  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  was  applied  dur- 
ing the  20  years  to  the  plot  dressed  with  farm-yard  manure,  of 
which  427|  Ibs.  were  recovered  in  the  crop,  and  3,567£  Ibs.  left  in 
the  soil. 

"  I  see,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  barley  gets  less  of  the  goodness 
out  of  farm-yard  manure  than  wheat,  but  that  it  gets  more  out  of 
the  salts  of  ammonia  and  nitrate  of  soda.  How  do  you  account 
for  that?" 

"  I  suppose,  because  the  manure  for  wheat  was  applied  in  the 
autumn,  and  the  rains  of  winter  and  spring  dissolved  more  of  the 
plant-food  than  would  be  the  case  if  the  manure  was  applied  in 
the  spring.  If  the  manure  had  been  applied  on  the  surface,  in- 
stead of  plowing  it  under,  I  believe  the  effect  would  have  been 
still  more  in  favor  of  the  autumn-manuring." 

When  the  nitrogen  is  in  an  available  condition,  spring  barley 
can  take  up  and  utilize  a  larger  proportion  of  the  nitrogen  than 
winter  wheat.  Neither  the  wheat  nor  the  barley  can  get  at  and 
take  up  half  what  is  applied,  and  this,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  a  heavy  dew  or  a  slight  rain  furnishes  water  enough  on  an 
acre  to  dissolve  a  liberal  dressing  of  nitrate  of  soda  or  sulphate 
and  muriate  of  ammonia.  The  truth  is,  the  soil  is  very  conserva- 
tive. It  does  not,  fortunately  for  us,  yield  up  all  its  plant-food  in 
a  year 

We  have  seen  that  when  wheat  or  barley  is  dressed  with  sol- 


250 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


uble  ammonia-salts  or  nitrate  of  socla,  a  considerable  amount  of 
the  nitrogen  is  left  in  the  soil — an.lyet  this  nitrogen  is  of  compara- 
tively jittla  benefit  to  the  succeeding  crops  of  wheat  or  barley, 
while  a  fresh  dressing  of  ammonia-salts  or  nitrate  of  soda  is  of 
great  benefit  to  the  crop. 

In  other  words,  when  wheat  is  sown  after  wheat,  or  barley 
after  bar!  ay,  we  do  not  get  half  the  benefit  from  the  manure  which 
it  is  theoretically  capable  of  producing. 


Now,  the  question  is,  whether  by  a  judicious  rotation  of  crops, 
we  can  avoid  this  great  loss  of  manure  ? 

There  was  a  time  when  it  was  thought  that  the  growth  of  tur- 
nips enriched  the  soil.  I  have  heard  it  said,  again  and  again,  that 
the  reason  English  farmers  grow  larger  crops  of  wheat  and  bailey 
than  we  do,  is  because  they  grow  so  many  acres  of  turnips. 

"  So  I  have  often  heard,"  said  the  Deacon,  "and  I  supposed  the 
broad  turnip  leaves  absorbed  nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere." 

There  is  no  evidence  that  leaves  have  any  such  power ;  while 
there  are  many  facts  which  point  in  an  opposite  direction.  The 
following  experiments  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert  seem  to  show  that  the 
mere  growth  of  turnips  does  not  enrich  land  for  grain  crops. 

Turnips  were  grown  on  the  same  land,  year  after  year,  for  ten 
years.  Ths  land  was  then  plowed  and  sown  to  barley  for  three 
years.  The  following  table  gives  the  results : 

THREE  YEARS  OF  BARLEY- AFTER  TEN  TEARS  OF  TURNIPS. 


PARTICULARS  OP  MANURES,   ETC. 

1 

1 

I 

1 

Hoos-Field  — 
Barley,  without  manure,  after  3  corn-crops  

bush. 
26 

hush. 
35Y3 

bush. 

bush, 
31ft 

B-irn-Field— 

Biirlev.  after  10  yrs.  Turnips  manured  as  under— 

1.—  Mineral  manures  (last  8  years)  

20'* 

19W 

20 

20 

1  2.—  Mineral  manures  (8  yrs.)  ;  Ammonia-salts  (6  yrs.). 
3.—  Mineral  manures  (8  yrs.)  ;  Rape-cake  (6  yrs.)  
4.—  Mineral    manures    (8  yrs.);  Ammonia-salts  and 

23$ 

21  J4 
24ft 

21  K 

2? 

29*6 

23% 

23% 

25ft 

5.—  Mineral  manures  (8  yrs.)  ;  Ammonia-salts,  for  Bar- 

lev  1351 

52% 

26ft 

6.—  Mineral  manures  (8  yrs.)  ;  Nitrate  Soda,  for  Bar- 
ley, '54  and  '55  

(20  JO 

54% 

40% 

47ft 

Produce  of  Barley  per  Acre. 


The  yield  of  barley  after  turnips  is  less  than  it  is  after  grain 
crops,  and  it  is  evident  that  this  is  due  to  a  lack  of  available  nitro- 


MANURE    FOR    BARLEY.  251 

gen  in  the  soil.  In  other  words,  the  turnips  leave  less  available 
nitrogen  in  the  soil  than  grain  crops. 

After  alluding  to  the  facts  given  in  the  foregoing  table,  Messrs. 
Lawes  and  Gilbert  say  : 

"  There  is  evidence  of  another  kind  that  may  be  cited  as  show- 
ing that  it  was  of  available  nitrogen  that  the  turnips  had  rendered 
the  soil  so  deficient  for  the  after-growth  of  barley.  It  may  be  as- 
sumed that,  on  the  average,  between  25  and  30  Ibs.  of  nitrogen 
would  be  annually  removed  from  the  Rothamsted  soil  by  wheat 
or  barley  grown  year  after  year  without  nitrogenous  manure.  But 
it  is  estimated  that  from  the  mineral-manured  turnip-plots  there 
were,  over  the  10  years,  more  than  50  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre  per 
annum  removed.  As,  however,  on  some  of  the  plots,  small  quan- 
tities of  ammonia-salts  or  rape-cake  were  applied  in  the  first  two 
years  of  the  ten  of  turnips,  it  is,  perhaps,  more  to  the  purpose  to 
take  the  average  over  the  last  8  years  of  turnips  only ;  and  this 
would  show  about  45  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  removed  per  acre  per  annum. 
An  immaterial  proportion  of  this  might  be  due  to  the  small 
amounts  of  nitrogenous  manures  applied  in  the  first  two  years. 
Still,  it  may  be  assumed  ttat  about  1-J-  time  as  much  nitrogen  was 
removed  from  the  land  for  8,  if  not  for  10  years,  in  succession,  as 
would  have  been  taken  in  an  equal  number  of  crops  of  wheat  or 
barley  grown  without  nitrogenous  manure.  No  wonder,  then, 
that  considerably  less  barley  has  been  grown  in  3  years  after  a 
series  of  mineral-manured  turnip-crops,  than  was  obtained  in  an- 
other field  after  a  less  number  of  corn-crops. 

"The  results  obtained  in  Barn-field  afford  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  dependence  of  the  turnip-plant  on  a  supply  of  available  ni- 
trogen within  the  soil,  and  of  its  comparatively  great  power  of 
exhausting  it.  They  are  also  perfectly  consistent  with  those  in 
Hoos-field,  in  showing  that  mineral  manures  will  not  yield  fair 
crops  of  barley,  unless  there  be,  within  the  soil,  a  liberal  supply  of 
available  nitrogen.  The  results  obtained  under  such  very  different 
conditions  in  the  two  fields  are,  in  fact,  strikingly  mutually  con* 
firmatory." 


252 


TALKS    OX    MAXURES. 


CHAPTER     XXX. 


MANURES    FOR    OATS. 


"  What  is  the  use  of  talking  about  manure  for  oats,"  said  the 
Deacon,  "  if  land  is  not  rich  enough  to  produce  oats  without  ma- 
nure, it  certainly  will  not  pay  to  manure  them.  We  can  use  our 
manure  on  some  crop  that  will  pay  better." 

"  That  is  precisely  what  we  want  to  know,"  said  I.  "  Very  likely 
you  are  right,  but  have  you  any  evidence  ?  " 

"  Evidence  of  what  ?  " 

"Have  you  any  facts  that  show,  for  instance,  that  it  will  pay 
better  to  use  manure  for  wheat  or  barley  than  for  oats  ?  " 

"  Can't  say  that  I  have,  but  I  think  manure  will  pay  better  on 
wheat  than  on  oats." 

Mr.  Lawes  is  making  a  series  of  experiments  on  oats.  Let  us 
lake  a  hasty  glance  at  the  results  of  the  first  two  seasons : 

EXPERIMENTS  ON  OATS  AT  ROTHAMSTED. 


MANURES  PER  ACRE. 

Grai 
bum 

1869. 

n,  in 

lels. 

Straw,  cwls. 

Weight  per 
bushel,  Ibs. 

1870. 

1869. 

1870. 

1869. 

1870. 

1.  —  No  manure 

36% 

45 
56% 

7514 
62i| 

69% 

16% 

19% 
37X 

50% 
36^ 

50 

»* 

24X 
36% 

54 

42X 

49% 

9J6 

9% 
17* 

28% 
23 

28M 

362£ 

383* 
37# 

89* 

38^ 

884 

35 

35H 
34)4 

30 
35  * 

853C 

2.—  Mixed  Alkalies  and  Superphosphate 
of  Lime 

3.  —  400  Ibs.  Ammonia-salts 

4.  —  Mixed  Alkalies  and  Superphosphate, 
and  400  Ibs.  Ammonia-salts  
5.—  550  Ibs.  Nitrate  of  Soda  

6.—  Mixed      Alkalies,     Superphosphate, 
and  550  Ibs.  Nitrate  of  Soda  

It  seems  clear  that,  for  oats,  as  for  barley  and  wheat,  what  we 
most  need  in  manure,  is  available  nitrogen. 

The  first  year,  the  no-manure  plot  produced  36£  bushels  of  oats 
per  acre,  weighing  36f  Ibs.  per  bushel,  and  plot  3,  with  ammonia- 
salts  alone,  56£  bushels,  and  with  nitrate  of  soda  alone,  on  plot  5, 
62£  bushels  per  acre,  both  weighing  38£  Ibs.  per  bushel.  In  other 
words,  82  Ibs.  of  available  nitrogen  ia  the  salts  of  ammonia  gave 
an  increase  of  about  20  bushels  per  acre,  and  the  same  quantity  of 
nitrogen  in  nitrate  of  soda  an  increase  of  26  bushels  per  acre. 

The  next  year,  the  season  seems  to  have  been  a  very  unfavor- 


MANURES    FOR    OATS.  253 

able  one  for  oats.  The  no-manure  plot  produced  less  than  17 
bushels  per  acre  ;  and  the  "  ashes"  and  superphosphate  on  plot  2, 
give  an  increase  of  less  than  8  bushels  per  acre.  But  it  will  be 
seen  that  on  plot  3  the  ainmoiiia-salts  do  as  much  good  in  this  un- 
favorable season  as  in  the  favorable  one.  They  give  an  increase 
of  over  20  bushels  per  acre. 

"A  few  such  facts  as  this,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  would  almost 
persuade  me  that  you  are  right  in  contending  that  it  is  in  the  un- 
favorable saasons,  when  prices  are  sure  to  be  high  in  this  country, 
that  a  good  farmer  stands  the  best  chance  to  make  money." 

"  Where  mixed  alkalies  and  superphosphate,"  said  the  Doctor, 
**  are  added  to  the  ammonia,  the  increase  from  the  ammonia  is  far 
greater  than  where  ammonia  is  used  alone.  In  other  words,  by 
comparing  plot  2  and  plot  4,  you  will  see  that  the  ammonia  gives 
an  increase  of  30£  bushels  per  acre  in  1869,  and  31|  bushels 
in  1870." 

The  truth  of  the  matter  probably  is  this :  100  Ibs.  of  available 
ammonia  per  acre  is  an  excessive  supply,  when  used  alone.  And 
in  fact  Mr.  Lawes  himself  only  recommends  about  half  this 
quantity. 

Whether  it  will  pay  us  to  use  artificial  manures  on  oats  depends 
on  the  price  we  are  likely  to  get  for  the  oats.  When  the  price  of 
oats  per  lb.  an:l  oat-straw  is  as  high  as  barley  and  barley-straw  per 
$.,then  it  will  pay  a  little  better  to  use  manure  on  oat-s  than  on 
barley.  As  a  rule  in  this  country,  however,  good  barley  is  worth 
more  per  lb.  than  good  oats ;  and  it  will  usually  pay  better  to  use 
artificial  manures  on  barley  than  on  oats. 

Some  years  ago  Mr.  Bath,  of  Virginia,  made  some  experiments 
on  oats  with  the  following  results  : 

Bushels  of  oats 
per  acre. 

No.  1—200  Ibs.  Superphosphate 23 

No.  2—200  Ibs.  Peruvian  guano 481 

No.  3—100  Ibs.  Peruvian  guano 32 

The  oats  were  sown  March  13,  and  the  crop  harvested  July  4. 

In  1860, 1  made  some  experiments  with  gypsum,  superphosphate, 
and  sulphate  of  ammonia  as  a  top-dressing  on  oats. 

The  land  was  a  clover-sod,  plowed  about  the  middle  of  May, 
and  the  oats  sown  May  20.  On  the  26th  of  May,  just  as  the  oats 
were  coming  up,  the  manures  were  sown  broadcast.  The  oats 
were  sown  too  late  to  obtain  the  best  results.  On  another  field, 
w  here  the  oats  were  sown  two  weeks  earlier,  the  crop  was  decidedly 
better.  The  oats  were  cut  August  28. 

The  following  is  the  result : 


254 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


EXPERIMENTS  ON  OATS  AT  MOKBTON  FABM,  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


Plots. 

MANURES   PliU  ACRE. 

Buxfols 

o,  Oats 
per  acre. 

Weight 
per  Bushel 
tn  Ibs. 

Straw 
per  acre 
in  Lbs. 

No.  1 
2 

1 

No  manure  
600  los.  Gypsum  (Sulphate  of  Lime)...   . 
31)0  Ibs.  Superphosphate    of  Lime  
300  Ibs.  Sulphate  of  Ammonia  
300  Ibs.  Superphosphate  of  Lime,  and  300 
11)-.  Sulphate  of  Ammonia  

36 

47 
50 
50 

51 

22 
26 
21 
22 

22^ 

1,958 
2,475 
2,475 
2,750 

2,575 

These  experiments  were  made  when  my  land  was  not  as  clean 
as  it  is  now.  I  presume  the  weeds  got  more  benefit  from  the  am- 
monia than  the  oats.  To  top-dress  foul  land  with  expensive  arti- 
ficial manures  is  money  thrown  away.  If  the  land  had  been  plowed 
in  the  autumn,  and  the  seed  and  manures  could  have  been  put  in 
early  in  the  spring,  I  presume  we  should  have  had  more  favorable 
results. 

"  Are  you  not  ashamed  to  acknowledge,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that 
you  have  ever  raised  oats  weighing  only  22  Ibs.  per  bushel." 

No.  I  have  raised  even  worse  crops  than  this — and  so  has  the 
Deacon.  But  I  made  up  my  mind  that  such  farming  did  not  pay, 
and  I  have  been  trying  hard  since  then  to  clean  my  land  and  get 
it  into  better  condition.  And  until  this  is  done,  ic  is  useless  to  talk 
much  of  artificial  manures. 

The  most  striking  result  is  the  effect  of  the  gypsum.  It  not  only 
gave  an  increased  yield  of  11  bushels  per  acre,  but  the  oats  were  of 
decidedly  better  quality,  and  there  was  nearly  half  a  ton  more 
straw  per  acre  than  on  the  plot  alongside,  where  no  manure  was 
used. 

The  superphosphate  was  a  good  article,  similar  to  that  used  in 
Mr.  Lawes'  experiments. 


MANURES    FOR    POTATOES.  255 

CHAPTER     XXXI. 
MANURES  FOR  POTATOES. 

Some  time  ago,  a  farmer  in  Pennsylvania  wrote  me  that  he 
wanted  "  to  raise  a  first-rate  crop  of  potatoes."  I  answered  him 
as  follows  through  the  American  Agriculturist : 

"There  are  many  ways  of  doing  this.  But  as  you  only  enter  on 
the  farm  this  spring,  you  will  work  to  disadvantage.  To  obtain 
the  best  results,  it  is  necessary  to  prepare  for  the  crop  two  or  three 
years  beforehand.  All  that  you  can  do  this  year  is  to  select  the 
best  land  on  the  farm,  put  on  400  Ibs.  of  Peruvian  guano,  culti- 
vate thoroughly,  and  suffer  not  a  weed  to  grow.  A  two  or  three- 
year-old  clover-sod,  on  warm,  rich,  sandy  loam,  gives  a  good 
chance  for  potatoes.  Do  not  plow  until  you  are  ready  to  plant. 
Sow  the  guano  broadcast  after  plowing,  and  harrow  it  in,  or  apply 
a  tablespoonful  in  each  hill,  and  mix  it  with  the  soil.  Mark  out 
the  rows,  both  ways,  three  feet  apart,  and  drop  a  fair-sized  potato 
in  each  hill.  Start  the  cultivator  as  soon  as  the  rows  can  be  dis- 
tinguished, and  repeat  every  week  or  ten  days  until  there  is  danger 
of  disturbing  the  roots.  We  usually  hill  up  a  little,  making  a  broad, 
flat  hill.  A  tablespoonful  of  plaster,  dusted  on  the  young  plants 
soon  after  they  come  up,  will  usually  do  good.  We  recommend 
guano,  because  in  our  experience  it  does  not  increase  the  rot. 
But  it  is  only  fair  to  add,  that  we  have  not  found  even  barn-yard 
manure,  if  thoroughly  rotted  and  well  mixed  with  the  soil  the  fall 
previous,  half  so  injurious  as  some  people  would  have  us  suppose. 
If  any  one  will  put  25  loads  per  acre  on  our  potato  land,  we  will 
agree  to  plant  and  run  the  risk  of  the  rot.  But  we  would  use  some 
guano  as  well.  The  truth  is,  that  it  is  useless  to  expect  a  large 
crop  of  potatoes,  say  350  bushels  per  acre,  without  plenty  of 
manure." 

This  was  written  before  the  potato-beetle  made  its  appearance. 
But  I  think  I  should  say  the  same  thing  now — only  put  it  a  little 
stronger.  The  truth  is,  it  will  not  pay  to  "  fight  the  bugs"  on  a 
poor  crop  of  potatoes.  We  must  select  the  best  land  we  have  and 
make  it  as  rich  as  possible. 

"But  why  do  you  recommend  Peruvian  guano,"  asked  the 
Doctor,  "  rather  than  superphosphate  or  ashes  ?  Potatoes  contain 
a  large  amount  of  potash,  and  one  would  expect  considerable 
benefit  from  an  application  of  ashes." 

"  Ashes,  plaster,  and  hen-dung,"  said  the  Judge,  "  will  at  any  rate 


236  TALKS    ON   MANTJRES. 

pay  well  on  potatoes.     I  have  tried  this  mixture  again  and  again, 
and  always  with  good  effect. " 

"  I  believe  in  the  hen-dung,"  said  I,  "  and  possibly  in  the  plaster, 
but  on  my  land,  ashes  do  not  seem  to  be  specially  beneficial 
on  potatoes,  while  I  have  rarely  used  Peruvian  guano  without 
good  effect;  and  sometimes  it  has  proved  wonderfully  profit- 
able, owing  to  the  high  price  of  potatoes." 


Sometime  ago,  I  had  a  visit  from  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
and  successful  farmers  in  Western  New  York. 

''What  I  want  to  learn,"  he  said,  "is  how  to  make  manure 
enough  to  keep  my  land  in  good  condition.  I  sell  nothing  but 
beans,  potatoes,  wheat,  and  apples.  I  feed  out  all  my  corn,  oats, 
stalks,  straw,  and  hay  on  the  farm,  and  draw  into  the  barn-yard 
the  potato- vines  and  everything  else  that  will  rot  into  manure.  I 
make  a  big  pile  of  it.  But  the  point  with  me  is  to  find  out  what  is 
the  best  stock  to  feed  this  straw,  stalks,  hay,  oats,  and  corn  to,  so 
as  to  make  the  best  manure  and  return  the  largest  profit.  Last 
year  I, bought  a  lot  of  steers  to  feed  in  winter,  and  lost  money. 
This  fall  I  bought  68  head  of  cows  to  winter,  intending  to  sell 
them  in  the  spring." 

"What  did  they  cost  you  ?  " 

"  I  went  into  Wyoming  and  Cattarangus  Counties,  and  picked 
them  up  among  the  dairy  farmers,  and  selected  a  very  fair  lot  of 
cows  at  an  average  of  $22  per  head.  I  expect  to  sell  them  as  new 
milch  cows  in  the  spring.  Such  cows  last  bpring  would  have  been 
worth  $60  to  $70  each." 

"  That  will  pay.  But  it  is  not  often  the  grain-grower  gets  such  a 
chance  to  feed  out  his  straw,  stalks,  and  other  fodder  to  advantage. 
It  cannot  be  adopted  as  a  permanent  system.  It  is  bad  for  the 
dairyman,  and  no  real  help  to  the  grain-grower.  The  manure  is  not 
rich  enough.  Straw  and  stalks  aloae  can  not  be  fed  to  advantage. 
And  when  you  winter  cows  to  sell  again  in  the  spring,  it  will  not 
pay  to  feed  grain.  If  you  were  going  to  keep  the  cows  it  would  pay 
well.  The  fat  and  flesh  you  put  on  in  the  winter  would  be  re- 
turned in  the  form  of  butter  and  cheese  next  summer." 

"  Why  is  not  the  manure  good  ?  I  am  careful  to  save  everything, 
and  expect  seven  or  eight  hundred  loads  of  manure  in  the  spring." 

"  You  had  60  acres  of  wheat  that  yielded  25  bushels  per  acre, 
and  have  probably  about  50  tons  of  wheat  straw.  You  had  also 
30  acres  oats,  that  yielded  50  bushels  per  acre,  say  85  tons  of 
straw.  Your  20  acres  of  corn  produced  40  bushels  of  shelled  com 
per  acre ;  say  the  stalks  weigh  30  tons.  And  you  have  60  tons  of 


MANURES   FOB   POTATOES.  257 

hay,  half  clover  and  half  timothy.    Let  us  see  what  your  manure 
from  this  amount  of  grain  and  fodder  is  worth. 

Manures  from 

50  tons  wheat-straw,®  $2.63  .............  $  134.00 

35  tons  oat-straw,  (a)  $2.90  ................      101.50 

30  tons  corn-stalks,  (a)  $3.58  ...............       107.40 

30  tons  timothy-hay,  (a)  16.43  .............      192.90 

30  tons  clover-hay,  (a)  $9.64  ...............      289.20 

14  tons  oats  (1,5UU  bush.),  @  $7.70  ........      107.80 

_2t  tons  corn  (bOO  bushels),  (o>  $6.65  .......      159.60 

Total  .  ."213  tons  $1,OJ2.40 

"  This  is  the  value  of  the  manure  on  the  land.  Assuming  that 
there  are  600  loads,  and  that  the  labor  of  cleaning  out  the  stables, 
piling,  carting,  and  spreading  the  manure  is  worth  30  cents  per 
load,  or  $180,  we  have  $912.40  as  the  net  value  of  the  manure. 

"  Now,  your  250-acre  farm  might  be  so  managed  that  this  amount 
of  manure  annually  applied  would  soon  greatly  increase  its  fertility. 
But  you  do  not  think  you  can  afford  to  summer-fallow,  and  you 
want  to  raise  thirty  or  forty  acres  of  potatoes  every  year." 

"  I  propose  to  do  so,"  he  replied.  *'  Situated  as  I  am,  close  to  a 
good  shipping  station,  no  crop  pays  me  better.  My  potatoes  this 
year  have  averaged  me  over  $100  per  acre." 

"Very  good.  But  it  is  perfectly  clear  to  my  mind  that  sooner 
or  later,  you  must  either  farm  slower  or  feed  higher.  And  in  your 
case,  situated  close  to  a  village  where  you  can  get  plenty  of  help, 
and  with  a  good  shipping  station  near  by,  you  had  better  adopt 
the  latter  plan.  You  must  feed  higher,  and  make  richer  manure. 
You  now  feed  out  213  tons  of  stuff,  and  make  600  loads  of  manure, 
worth  $912.40.  By  feeding  out  one  third,  or  71  tons  more,  you  can. 
more  than  double  the  value  of  the  manure. 

50  tons  of  bran  or  mill-feed  would  give  manure  worth  ........    $  729.50 

21  tons  decorticated  cotton-seed  cake  .........................       585.06 


"  Buy  and  feed  out  this  amount  of  bran  and  cake,  and  you  would 
have  800  loads  of  manure,  worth  on  the  land  $2,226.96,  or,  estimat- 
ing as  before  that  it  cost  30  cents  a  load  to  handle  it,  its  net  value 
would  be  $1,986.96." 

I  am  well  aware  that  comparatively  few  farmers  in  this  section 
can  afford  to  adopt  this  plan  of  enriching  their  land.  We  want 
better  stock.  I  do  not  know  where  I  could  buy  a  lot  of  steers  that 
it  would  pay  to  fatten  in  the  winter.  Those  farmers  who  raise 
good  grade  Shorthorn  or  Devon  cattle  are  not  the  men  to  sell 
them  half-fat  at  low  rates.  They  can  fatten  them  as  well  as  I  can. 
For  some  time  to  come,  the  farmer  who  proposes  to  feed  liberally, 


258  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

•will  have  lo  raise  his  own  stock.  He  can  rarely  buy  well-bred  ani- 
mals to  fatten.  A  good  farmer  must  be  a  good  farmer  throughout. 
He  can  not  be  good  in  spots.  His  land  must  be  drained,  well- 
wormed,  and  free  from  weeds.  If  he  crops  heavily  he  must  manure 
heavily,  and  to  do  this  he  must  feed  liberally— and  he  can  not 
afford  to  feed  liberally  unless  he  has  good  stock. 

"  I  have,  myself,  no  doubt  but  you  are  right  on  this  point,"  said 
the  Doctor,  "  but  all  this  takes  time.  Suppose  a  farmer  becomes 
satisfied  that  the  manure  he  makes  is  not  rich  enough.  To  tell  him, 
when  he  is  anxious  to  raise  a  good  crop  of  potatoes  next  year,  that 
he  must  go  to  work  and  improve  his  stock  of  cattle,  sheep,  and 
swine,  and  then  buy  bran  and  oil-cake  to  make  richer  manure,  is 
somewhat  tantalizing." 

This  is  true,  and  in  such  a  case,  instead  of  adding  nitrogen  and 
phosphoric  acid  to  his  manure  in  the  shape  of  bran,  oil -cake,  etc., 
he  can  buy  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  in  guano  or  in  nitrate  of 
soda  and  super] >hosph ate.  This  gives  him  richer  manure  ;  which 
is  precisely  what  he  wants  for  his  potatoes.  His  poor  manure  is 
not  so  much  deficient  in  potash  as  in  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid, 
and  consequently  it  is  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  that  he  will 
probably  need  to  make  his  soil  capable  of  producing  a  large  crop 
of  potatoes. 

I  have  seen  Peruvian  guano  extensively  used  on  potatoes,  and 
almost  always  with  good  effect.  My  first  experience  with  it  in  this 
country,  was  in  1852.  Four  acres  of  potatoes  were  planted  on  a 
two-year-old  clover-sod,  plowed  in  the  spring.  On  two  acres, 
Peruvian  guano  was  sown  broadcast  at  the  rate  of  300  Ibs.  per  acre 
and  harrowed  in.  The  potatoes  were  planted  May  10.  On  the 
other  two  acres  no  manure  of  any  kind  was  used,  though  treated 
exactly  alike  in  every  other  respect.  The  result  was  as  follows : 

No  manure. . .  119  bushels  per  acre. 

300  Ibs.  Peruvian  guano 205 

The  guano  cost,  here,  about  3  cents  a  lb.,  and  consequently  nine 
dollars'worth  of  guano  gave  84  bushels  of  potatoes.  The  potatoes 
were  all  sound  and  good,  but  where  the  guano  was  used,  they  were 
larger,  with  scarcely  a  small  one  amongst  them. 


In  1857, 1  made  the  following  experiments  on  potatoes,  in  the 
same  field  on  which  the  preceding  experiment  was  made  in  1852. 

In  this  case,  as  before,  the  land  was  a  two-year-old  clover-sod.  It 
•was  plowed  about  the  first  of  May,  nnd  harrowed  until  it  was  in  a 
good  mellow  condition.  The  potatoes  were  planted  in  hills  3i 


MANURES   FOE   POTATOES. 


259 


feet  apart  each  way.    The  following  table  shows  the  manures  used 
and  the  yield  of  potatoes  per  acre. 

EXPERIMENTS   ON   POTATOES   AT   MOKETON   FAEM. 


DESCRIPTION  or  MANURES  USED,  AND  QUANTITIES 

\>tatoesper 
bushels. 

fls 

c? 

APPLIED  PER  ACRE. 

•*)  8 

^  **  £•} 

*5 

111 

I 

R* 

111 

1 

95 

2. 

140 

45 

3 

303  Ibs  superphosphate  of  lime 

132 

37 

4. 

150  Ibs.  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  300  Ibs.  superphos- 

phate of  lime                    

179 

84 

5 

40J  Ibs  of  unleached  wood-ashes. 

100 

5 

6. 

100  Ibs.  plaster,  (gypsum,  or  sulphate  of  lime,)  

101 

6 

7 

400  Ibs  unleached  wood-ashes  an  11  100  Ibs.  plaster. 

110 

15 

8. 

400  Ibs.  unleached  wood-ashes,  150  Ibs.  sulphate  of  am- 

monia and  100  Ibs.  plaster  

109 

14 

9.   j 

300  Ibs.  superphosphate  of  lime,  159  Ibs.  sulphate  of  am- 
monia and  400  Ibs.  unleacbed  wood-ashes.  .  

138 

43 

The  superphosphate  of  lime  was  made  expressly  for  experimen- 
tal purposes,  from  calcined  bones,  ground  fine,  and  mixed  with 
sulphuric  acid  in  the  proper  proportions  to  convert  all  the  phos- 
pnate  of  lime  of  the  bones  into  the  soluble  superphosphate.  It  was 
a  purely  mineral  article,  free  from  ammonia  and  other  organic 
matter.  It  cost  about  two  and  a  half  cents  per  pound. 

The  manures  were  deposited  in  the  hill,  covered  with  an  inch  or 
two  of  soil,  and  the  seed  then  planted  on  the  top.  Where  super- 
phosphate of  lime  or  sulphate  of  ammonia  was  used  in  conjunction 
with  ashes,  the  ashes  were  first  deposited  in  the  hill  and  covered 
with  a  little  soil,  and  then  the  superphosphate  or  sulphate  of  am- 
monia placed  on  the  top  and  covered  with  soil  before  the  seed  was 
planted.  Notwithstanding  this  precaution,  the  ram  washed  the 
sulphate  of  ammonia  into  the  ashes,  and  decomposition,  with  loss 
of  ammonia,  was  the  result.  This  will  account  for  the  less  yield 
on  plot  8  than  on  plot  2.  It  would  have  been  better  to  have  sown 
the  ashes  broadcast,  but  some  previous  experiments  with  Peruvian 
guano  on  potatoes  indicated  that  it  was  best  to  apply  guano  in  the 
hill,  carefully  covering  it  with  soil  to  prevent  it  injuring  the  seed, 
than  to  sow  it  broadcast.  It  was  for  this  reason,  and  for  the  greater 
convenience  in  sowing,  that  the  manures  were  applied  in  the  hill. 

The  ash  of  potatoes  consists  of  about  50  per  cent  of  potash,  and 
this  fact  has  induced  many  writers  to  recommend  ashes  as  a  manure 
for  this  crop.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  in  this  instance,  at 


260  TALKS   ON   MA.NUEES. 

least,  they  have  very  little  effect,  400  Ibs.  giving  an  increase  of  only 
five  bushels  per  acre.  One  hundred  pounds  of  plaster  per  acre  gave 
an  increase  of  six  bushels.  Plaster  and  ashes  combined,  an  increase 
per  acre  of  15  bushels. 

One  fact  is  clearly  brought  out  by  these  experiments  :  that  this 
soil,  which  has  been  under  cultivation  without  manure  for  many 
years,  is  not,  relatively  to  other  constituents  of  crops,  deficient  in 
potash.  Had  such  been  the  case,  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  and 
superphosphate  of  lime — manures  which  contain  no  potash — would 
not  have  given  an  increase  of  84  bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre. 
There  was  sufficient  potash  in  the  soil,  in  an  available  condition, 
for  179  bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre  ;  and  the  reason  why  the  soil 
without  manure  produced  only  95  bushels  per  acre,  was  owing  to 
a  deficiency  of  ammonia  and  phosphates. 

Since  these  experiments  were  made,  Dr.  Voelcker  and  others  have 
made  similar  ones  in  England.  The  results  on  the  whole  all  point 
in  one  direction.  They  show  that  the  manures  most  valuable  for 
potatoes  are  those  rich  in  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid,  and  that 
occasionally  potash  is  also  a  useful  addition. 

"  There  is  one  thing  I  should  like  to  know,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"  Admitting  that  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  are  the 
most  important  elements  of  plant-food,  how  many  bushels  of  po- 
tatoes should  we  be  likely  to  get  from  a  judicious  application  of 
these  manures  ?  " 

"There  is  no  way,"  said  I,  " of  getting  at  this  with  any  degree 
of  certainty.  The  numerous  experiments  that  have  been  made  in 
England  seem  to  show  that  a  given  quantity  of  manure  will  produce 
a  larger  increase  on  poor  land  than  on  land  in  better  condition." 

In  England  potatoes  are  rarely  if  ever  planted  without  manure, 
and  the  land  selected  for  this  crop,  even  without  manure,  would 
usually  be  in  better  condition  than  the  average  potato  land  of  this 
section,  and  consequently  a  given  amount  of  manure,  applied  to 
potatoes  here,  would  be  likely  to  do  more  good,  up  to  a  certain 
point,  than  the  same  amount  would  in  England. 

Let  us  look  at  some  of  the  experiments  that  have  been  made  in 
England : — 

In  the  Transactions  of  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of 
Scotland  for  1873  is  a  prize  essay  on  "Experiments  upon  Potatoes, 
with  Potash  Salts,  on  Light  Land,"  by  Charles  D.  Hunter,  F.  C.  S., 
made  on  the  farm  of  William  Lawson,  in  Cumberland.  Mr.  Hun- 
ter "  was  charged  with  the  manuring  of  the  farm  and  the  purchas- 
ing of  chemical  manures  to  the  annual  value  of  £2,000,"  or  say 
$10,000. 


MANURES    FOR    POTATOES.  261 

"Potatoes,"  says  Mr.  Hunter,  "were  largely  grown  on  the  farm, 
and  in  the  absence  of  a  sufficiency  of  farm-yard  manure,  potash 
naturally  suggested  itself  as  a  necessary  constituent  of  a  chemical 
potato-manure.  The  soil  was  light  and  gravelly,  with  an  open 
subsoil,  and  the  rainfall  from  29  to  38  inches  a  year." 

The  first  series  of  experiments  was  made  in  1867.  The  follow- 
ing are  some  of  the  results  : — 

Bushels  per  acre. 

No  manure 221 

4  cwt.  mineral  superphosphate 225 

4  cwt.  mineral  superphosphate  and )  9Af} 

4  cwt.  of  muriate  of  potash \  *™ 

15s  tons  farm-yard  manure 293 

"  That  does  not  say  much  for  potash  r.nd  superphosphate,"  said 
the  Deacon.  "  The  superphosphate  only  produced  four  bushels 
more  than  the  no  manure,  and  the  potash  and  superphosphate 
only  fifteen  bushels  more  than  the  superphosphate  alone." 

It  may  be  worth  while  mentioning  that  one  of  the  experimental 
plots  this  year  was  on  a  head-land,  "  where  the  cattle  frequently 
stand  for  shelter."  This  plot  was  dressed  with  only  eight  and  a 
half  tons  of  manure,  and  the  crop  was  over  427  bushels  per  acre, 
while  a  plot  alongside,  without  manure,  produced  only  163  bushels 
per  acre. 

"  That  shows  the  importance,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  of  planting 
potatoes  on  rich  land,  rather  than  to  plant  on  poor  land  and  try  to 
make  it  rich  by  applying  manure  directly  to  the  crop." 

The  following  are  some  of  the  results  in  1868 : 

Bushels  per  acre. 
1.     No  manure 232 

{4  cwt.  superphosphate ) 
2    "    muriate  of  potash V  340 
2    "    sulohate  of  ammonia ) 

8 .     20  tons  farm-yard  manure 342 

,    j  4  cwt.  superphosphate I  O7,i 

4-|4    "    muriate  of  potash \~' 

"Here  again,"  said  the  Doctor,  "superphosphate  and  potash 
alone  give  an  increase  of  only  forty-two  bushels  per  acre,  while  on 
plot  2,  where  two  hundred  weight  of  muriate  of  potash  is  substi- 
tuted by  two  hundred  weight  of  sulphate  of  ammonia,  the  increase 
is  108  bushels  per  acre.  It  certainly  looks  as  though  a  manure  for 
potatoes,  so  far  as  yield  is  concerned,  should  be  rich  in  available 
nitrogen." 


262  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  results  in  1869 : 

Bushels  per  acre. 
1.     No  manure 1V6 

(4  cwt.  superphosphate "1 
f    "     sulphate  of  magnesia lqnft 
2    "     muriate  of  potash (' 
2    "     sulphate  of  ammonia J 

3.     4  cwt.  superphosphate 189 

A   j  4  cwt.  superphosphate j  rn1 

*•  |  2    "     sulphate  of  ammonia pul 

(  4  cwt.  superphosphate j 

5.-J2    "     muriate  of  potash V340 

(2    "     sulphate  of  ammonia ) 

fi    {  4  cwt.  superphosphate [  OJO 

b-12    "     muriate  of  potash f5* 

"This  is  a  very  interesting  experiment,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"Superphosphate  alone  gives  an  increase  of  thirteen  bushels. 
Superphosphate  and  potash  an  increase  of  seventy-three  bushels. 
The  potash,  therefore,  gives  an  increase  of  sixty  bushels.  Super- 
phosphate and  ammonia  give  twelve  bushels  more  than  superphos- 
phate alone,  and  the  reason  it  does  not  produce  a  better  crop  is 
owing  to  a  deficiency  of  potash.  When  this  is  .supplied  the  am- 
monia gives  an  increase  (plots  5  and  6)  of  ninety-one  bushels  per 
acre." 

In  1870  the  above  experiments  were  repeated  on  the  same  land, 
with  the  same  general  results. 

In  1871  some  experiments  were  made  on  a  sharp,  gravelly  soil, 
which  had  been  over-cropped,  and  was  in  poor  condition.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  results : — 

Bushels  per  acre. 

1    (  9  cwt.  superphosphate \-\QR 

10 1 8    "     sulphate  of  ammonia J  ic 


(  9  cwt.  superphosphate . 
!.-<  3i  "     muriate  of  i 


2.  -j  3i  "     muriate  of  potash V-204 

(  3    "     sulphate  of  ammonia ) 

3.  No  manure 70 

{9  cwt.  superphosphate ) 
3i  "    muriate  of  potash1 J-205 
3    "    sulphate  of  ammonia ) 

5.    20  tons  farm-yard  manure 197 


"  On  this  poor  soil,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  tbe  ammonia  and  super- 
phosphate gave  an  increase  of  116  bushels  per  acre;  and  3£  hun- 
dred weight  of  muriate  of  potash  an  increase,  on  one  plot,  of 
eighteen  bushels,  and  on  the  other  nineteen  bushels  per  acre." 

In  the  same  year,  1871,  another  set  of  experiments  was  made  on 
a  better  and  more  loamy  soil,  which  had  bsen  in  grass  for  several 
years.  In  1369  it  was  sown  for  hay,  and  in  1870  was  broken  up 
and  sown  to  oats,  and  the  next  spring  planted  with  potatoes.  The 
some  of  the  results: 


(  6i  cwt. 
.4  dl    " 

(  2i     " 


MANLKES    FOE    POTATOES.  263 

Bushels  per  acre. 
superphosphate  ....................  ) 

muriate  ot  potash  ..................  [-321 

sulphate  of  ammonia  ..............  ) 

j  6i  cwt.  superphosphate  ....................  (_  90« 

1  2*     "    sulphate  01  ammonia  .............  »  J 

3.     No  manure  .........................  -.  ......     252 

4    (  6?  cwt.  superphosphate  ....................  )  01  -. 

*'|-84    "    muriate  of  potash  .................  J 

5.  2i  cwt.  sulphate  ot  ammonia  ..............     238 

6.  15  tons  farin-yaid  manure  ..................    365 

"  It  is  curious,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  the  plot  with  sulphate  of 
ammonia  alone  should  produce  less  than  the  no-manure  plot." 

"The  sulphate  of  ammonia,"  said  I,  "may  have  injured  the 
seed,  or  it  may  have  produced  too  luxuriant  a  growth  of  vine." 

Another  series  of  experiments  was  made  on  another  portion  of 
the  same  field  in  1871.  The  "no-manure"  plot  produced  337 
bushels  per  acre.  Manures  of  various  kinds  were  used,  but  the 
largest  yield,  351  bushels  per  acre,  was  from  superphosphate  and 
sulphate  of  ammonia;  fourteen  tons  barn-yard  manure  prod  ce 
340  buslicls  per  acre;  and  Mr.  Hunter  remarks:  "It  is  evident 
that,  when  the  produce  of  the  unmanured  soil  reaches  nine  tons 
[336  bushels]  per  acre,  there  is  but  little  scope  for  manure  of  any 
kind." 

"I  do  not  see,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  you  have  answered  my 
question,  but  I  suppose  that,  with  potatoes  at  fifty  cents  a  bushel, 
and  wheat  at  $1.50  per  bushel,  artificial  manures  can  be  more 
profitably  used  on  potatoes  than  on  wbeat,  and  the  same  is  prob- 
ably true  of  oats,  barley,  corn,  etc." 

I  have  long  been  of  the  opinion  that  artificial  manures  csn  be 
applied  to  potatoes  with  more  profit  than  to  any  other  ordinary 
farm-crop,  for  the  simple  reason  that,  in  this  country,  potatoes,  on 
the  average,  command  relatively  high  prices. 

For  instance,  if  average  land,  without  manure,  will  produce  fif- 
teen bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  and  100  bushels  of  potatoes,  and  a 
given  quantity  of  manure  costing,  say  $25,  will  double  the  crop, 
we  have,  in  the  one  case,  an  increase  of:  — 

15  bushels  of  wheat  at  $1.50  ................  $22.50 

15  cwt.  of  straw  ............................  .     3.50 

$26.00 
Cost  of  manure  .........................  .   25.00 

Profit  from  u«ing  manure  ...................  7  61.00 

And  in  the  o'her:  — 

100  bushels  of  potatoes  at  SO  cents  ......  .  .....  ?50.00 

Cost  of  manure  .............................  25.00 

Profit  from  using  manure  ................  $25.00 


204 


TALKS    ON    MAXURES. 


The  only  question  is,  whether  the  same  quantity  of  the  right 
kind  of  manure  is  as  likely  to  double  the  potato  crop  as  to  double 
the  wheat  crop,  when  both  are  raised  on  average  land. 

"  It  is  not  an  easy  matter,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  double  the  yield 
of  potatoes." 

"Neither  is  it,"  said  I,  "  to  double  the  yield  of  wheat,  but  both 
can  be  done,  provided  you  start  low  enough.  If  your  land  is  clean 
and  well  worked,  and  dry,  and  only  produces  ten  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  making  it  produce  twenty  bushels ; 
and  so  of  potatoes.  If  the  land  be  dry  and  well  cultivated,  and, 
barring  the  bugs,  produces  without  manure  75  bushels  per  acre,' 
there  ought  to  be  no  difficulty  in  making  it  produce  150  bushels' 

"  But  if  your  land  produces,  without  manure,  150  bushels,  it  is 
not  always  easy  to  make  it  produce  300  bushels.  Fortunately,  or 
unfortunately,  our  land  is,  in  most  cases,  poor  enough  to  start 
with,  and  we  ought  to  be  able  to  use  manure  on  potatoes  to  great 
advantage." 

*'  But  will  not  the  manure,"  asked  the  Deacon,"  injure  the  quality 
of  the  potatoes?" 

I  think  not.  So  far  a?  my  experiments  and  experience  go,  the 
judicious  use  of  good  manure,  on  dry  land,  favors  the  perfect  ma- 
turity of  the  tubers  and  the  formation  of  starch.  I  never  manured 
potatoes  so  highly  as  I  did  last  year  (1877),  and  never  had  potatoes 
of  such  high  quality.  They  cook  white,  dry,  and  mealy.  We 
made  furrows  two  and  a  half  feet  apart,  and  spread  rich,  well-rotted 
manure  in  the  furrows,  and  planted  the  potatoes  on  top  of  the  ma- 
nure, and  covered  them  with  a  plow.  In  our  climate,  I  am  inclined 
to  think,  it  would  be  better  to  apply  the  manure  to  the  land  for 
potatoes  the  autumn  previous.  If  sod  land,  spread  the  manure  on 
the  surface,  and  let  it  lie  exposed  all  winter.  If  stubble  land, 
plow  it  in  the  fall,  and  then  spread  the  manure  in  the  fall  or  win- 
ter, and  plow  it  under  in  the  spring. 


WHAT    CROPS   SHOULD    MANURE    BE    APPLIED   TO.      265 


CHAPTER     XXXII. 
WHAT    CROPS    SHOULD    MANURE    BE   APPLIED    r 

14  It  will  not  do  any  harm  on  any  crop,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but 
on  my  farm  it  seems  to  be  most  convenient  to  draw  it  out  in  the 
winter  or  spring,  and  plow  it  under  for  corn.  I  do  not  know  any 
farmer  except  you  who  uses  it  on  potatoes." 

My  own  rule  is  to  apply  manure  to  those  crops  which  require 
the  most  labor  per  acre.  But  I  am  well  aware  that  this  rule  will 
have  many  exceptions.  For  instance,  it  will  often  pay  well  to  uss 
manure  on  barley,  and  yet  barley  requires  far  less  labor  than  com 
or  potatoes. 

People  who  let  out,  and  those  who  work  farms  "on  shares" 
seldom  understand  this  matter  clearly.  I  knew  a  farmer,  who  last 
year  let  out  a  field  of  good  land,  that  had  been  in  corn  the  previous 
year,  to  a  man  to  sow  to  barley,  and  afterwards  to  wheat  on  "the 
halves."  Another  part  of  the  farm  was  taken  by  a  man  to  plant 
corn  and  potatoes  on  similar  terms,  and  another  man  put  in  several 
acres  of  cabbage,  beets,  carrots,  and  onions  on  halves.  It  never 
seemed  to  occur  to  either  of  them  that  the  conditions  were  un- 
equal. The  expense  of  digging  and  harvesting  the  potato-crop 
alone  was  greater  than  the  whole  cost  of  the  barley-crop ;  while, 
after  the  barley  was  off,  the  land  was  plowed  once,  harrowed,  and 
sowed  to  winter  wheat ;  and  nothing  more  has  to  be  done  to  it 
until  the  next  harvest.  With  the  garden  crops,  the  difference  is 
even  still  more  striking.  The  labor  expended  on  one  acre  of 
onions  or  carrots  would  put  in  and  harvest  a  ten-acre  field  of 
barley.  If  the  tenant  gets  pay  for  his  labor,  the  landlord  would 
get  say  $5  an  acre  for  his  barley  land,  and  $50  for  his  carrot  and 
onion  land.  I  am  pretty  sure  the  tenants  did  not  see  the  matter 
in  this  light,  nor  the  farmer  either. 

Crops  which  require  a  large  amount  of  labor  can  only  be  grown 
on  very  rich  land.  Our  successful  market-gardeners,  seed-growers, 
and  nurserymen  understand  this  matter.  They  must  get  great 
crops  or  they  cannot  pay  their  labor  bill.  And  the  principle  is  ap- 
plicable to  ordinary  farm  crops.  Some^>f  them  require  much  more 
labor  than  others,  and  should  never  be  grown  unless  the  land  is 


266  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

capable  of  producing  a  maximum  yield  per  acre,  or  a  close  ap- 
proximation to  it.  As  a  rule,  the  least-paying  crops  are  those  which 
require  the  least  labor  per  acre.  Farmers  are  afraid  to  expend 
much  money  for  labor.  They  are  wise  in  this,  unless  all  the  con- 
ditions are  favorable.  But  when  they  have  land  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation — drained,  clean,  mellow,  and  rich — it  would  usually  pay 
them  well  to  grow  crops  which  require  the  most  labor. 

And  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that,  as  compared  with  nearly 
all  other  countries,  our  labor  is  expensive.  No  matter  how  cheap 
our  land  may  be,  we  can  not  afford  to  waste  our  labor.  It  is  too 
costly.  If  men  would  work  for  nothing,  and  board  themselves, 
there  are  localities  where  we  could  perhaps  afford  to  keep  sheep 
that  shear  two  pounds  of  wool  a  year ;  or  cows  that  make  75  Ibs. 
of  butter.  We  might  make  a  profit  out  of  a  wheat  crop  of  8  bush- 
els per  acre,  or  a  corn-crop  of  15  bushels,  or  a  potato-crop  of  50 
bushels.  But  it  cannot  be  done  with  labor  costing  from  $1.00  to 
$1.25  per  day.  And  I  do  not  believe  labor  will  cost  much  less  in 
our  time.  The  only  thing  we  can  do  is  to  employ  it  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. Machinery  will  help  us  to  some  extent,  but  I  can  see  no 
real  escape  from  our  difficulties  in  this  matter,  except  to  raise  larger 
crops  per  acre. 

In  ordinary  farming,  "  larger  crops  per  acre  "  means  fewer  acres 
planted  or  sown  with  grain.  It  means  more  summer  fallow,  more 
grass,  clover,  peas,  mustard,  coleseed,  roots,  and  other  crops  that 
are  consumed  on  the  farm.  It  means  more  thorough  cultiva- 
tion. It  means  clean  and  rich  land.  It  means  husbanding  the 
ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  which  is  brought  to  the  soil,  as  well  as 
that  which  is  developed  from  the  soil,  or  which  the  soil  attracts 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  using  it  to  grow  a  crop  every  second, 
third,  or  fourth  year,  instead  of  every  year.  If  a  piece  of  land  will 
grow  25  bushels  of  corn  every  year,  we  should  aim  to  so  manage 
it,  that  it  will  grow  50  every  other  year,  or  75  every  third  year,  or,  ' 
if  the  climate  is  capable  of  doing  it,  of  raising  100  bushels  per  acre 
every  fourth  year. 

Theoretically  this  can  be  done,  and  in  one  of  Mr.  Lawes'  experi- 
ments he  did  it  practically  in  the  case  of  a  summer-fallow  for 
wheat,  the  one  crop  in  two  years  giving  a  little  more  than  two 
crops  sown  in  succession.  But  on  sandy  land  we  should  probably 
lose  a  portion  of  the  liberated  plant-food,  unless  we  grew  a  crop  of 
some  kind  every  year.  And  the  matter  organized  in  the  renovat- 
ing crop  could  not  be  rendered  completely  available  for  the  • 
next  crop.  In  the  end,  however,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  get  it  with 
little  or  no  loss.  How  best  to  accomplish  this  result,  is  one  of  the 


WHAT   CROPS    SHOULD   MANURE    BE    APPLIED    TO.      267 

most  interesting  and  important  £elds  for  scientific  investigation  and 
practical  experiment.  We  know  enough,  however,  to  be  sure  that 
there  is  a  great  advantage  in  waiting  until  there  is  a  sufficient  ac- 
cumulation of  available  plant-food  in  the  soil  to  produce  a  large 
yield,  before  sowing  a  crop  that  requires  much  labor. 

If  we  do  not  want  to  wait,  we  must  apply  manure.  If  we  have 
no  barn-yard  or  stable-manure,  we  must  buy  artificials. 

HOW   AND   WHEN   MANURE    SHOULD   BE   APPLIED. 

This  is  not  a  merely  theoretical  or  chemical  question.  We  must 
take  into  consideration  the  cost  of  application.  Also,  whether  we 
apply  it  at  a  busy  or  a  leisure  season.  I  have  seen  it  recommended, 
for  instance,  to  spread  manure  on  meadow-land  immediately  after 
the  hay-crop  was  removed.  Now,  I  think  this  may  be  theoretically 
very  good  advice.  But,  on  my  farm,  it  would  throw  the  work 
right  into  the  midst  of  wheat  and  barley  harvests;  and  I  should 
make  the  theory  bend  a  little  to  my  convenience.  The  meadows 
would  have  to  wait  until  we  had  got  in  the  crops — or  until  harvest 
operations  were  stopped  by  rain. 

I  mention  this  merely  to  show  the  complex  character  of  this 
question.  On  my  own  farm,  the  most  leisure  season  of  the  year, 
except  the  winter,  is  immediately  after  wheat  harvest.  And,  as 
already  stated,  it  is  at  this  time  that  John  Johnston  draws  out  his 
manure  and  spreads  it  on  grass-land  intended  to  be  plowed  up  the 
following  spring  for  corn. 

If  the  manure  was  free  from  weed-seeds,  many  of  our  best  farm- 
ers, if  they  had  some  well-rotted  manure  like  this  of  John  John- 
ston's, would  draw  it  out  and  spread  it  on  their  fields  prepared  for 
winter-wheat. 

In  this  case,  I  should  draw  out  the  manure  in  heaps  and  then 
spread  it  carefully.  Then  harrow  it,  and  if  the  harrow  pulls  the 
manure  into  heaps,  spread  them  and  harrow  again.  It  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  spread  manure  evenly  and  mix  it  thor- 
oughly with  the  soil.  If  this  work  is  well  done,  and  the  manure 
is  well-rotted,  it  will  not  interfere  with  the  drill.  And  the  manure 
will  be  near  the  surface,  where  the  young  roots  of  the  wheat  can 
get  hold  of  it. 

u  You  must  recollect,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  the  roots  can  only 
take  up  the  manure  when  in  solution." 

"  It  must  also  be  remembered,"  said  I,  "  that  a  light  rain  of,  say, 
only  half  an  inch,  pours  down  on  to  the  manures  spread  on  an 
acre  of  land  about  14,000  gallons  of  water,  or  about  56  tons.  If 


263  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

you  have  put  on  8  tons  of  manure,  half  an  inch  of  rain  would  fur- 
nish a  g.illon  of  water  to  each  pound  of  manure.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  understand,  therefore,  how  manure  applied  on  the  surface,  or 
near  the  surface,  can  be  taken  up  by  the  young  roots." 

"  That  puts  the  matter  in  a  new  light  to  me,"  said  the  Deacon. 
"  If  the  manure  was  plowed  under,  five  or  six  inches  deep,  it 
would  require  an  abundant  rain  to  reach  the  manure.  And  it  is 
not  one  year  in  five  that  we  get  rain  enough  to  thoroughly  soak 
the  soil  for  several  weeks  after  sowing  the  wheat  in  August  or 
September.  And  when  it  does  conie,  the  season  is  so  far  advanced 
that  the  wheat  plants  make  little  growth." 

My  own  opinion  is,  that  on  clayey  land,  manure  will  act  much 
quicker  if  applied  on,  or  near  the  surface,  than  if  plowed  under. 
Clay  mixed  with  manure  arrests  or  checks  decomposition.  Sand 
has  no  such  effect.  If  anything,  it  favors  a  more  active  decompo- 
sition, and  hence,  manure  acts  much  more  rapidly  on  sandy 
land  than  on  clay  land.  And  I  think,  as  a  rule,  where  a  farmer 
advocates  the  application  of  manure  on  the  surface,  it  will  be 
found  that  he  occupies  clay  land  or  a  heavy  loam ;  while  those 
who  oppose  the  practice,  and  think  manure  should  be  plowed 
under,  occupy  sandy  land  or  sandy  loam. 

"  J.  J.  Thomas,"  said  I,  "once  gave  me  a  new  idea." 

"Is  that  anything  strange,"  remarked  the  Deacon.  "Are  ideas 
so  scarce  among  you  agricultural  writers,  that  you  can  recollect 
who  first  suggested  them  ?  " 

"Be  that  as  it  may,"  said  I,  "this  idea  has  had  a  decided  influ- 
ence on  my  farm  practice.  I  will  not  say  that  the  idea  originated 
with  Mr.  Thomas,  but  at  any  rate,  it  was  new  to  me.  I  had  always 
been  in  the  habit,  when  spading  in  manure  in  the  garden,  of  putting 
the  manure  in  the  trench  and  covering  it  up  ;  and  in  plowing  it  in, 
I  thought  it  was  desirable  to  put  it  at  the  bottom  of  the  furrow 
where  the  next  furrow  would  cover  it  up." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  and  what  objection  is  there  to  the 
practice  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  objecting  to  the  practice.  I  do  not  say  that  it  is  not  a 
good  plan.  It.  may  often  be  the  only  practicable  method  of  apply- 
in  *  manure.  But  it  is  well  to  know  that  there  is  sometimes  a  better 
plan.  The  idea  that  Mr.  Thomas  gave  me,  was,  that  it  was  very 
desirable  to  break  up  the  manure  fine,  spread  it  evenly,  and  thor- 
oughly mix  it  with  the  soil. 

"  After  the  manure  is  spread  on  the  soil,"  said  Mr.  Thomas,  "  and 
before  plowing  it  in,  great  benefit  is  derived  by  thoroughly  harrow- 
ing the  top-soil,  thus  breaking  finely  both  the  manure  and  the  soil, 


WHAT   CROPS    SHOULD   MANURE   BE    APPLIED   TO.      239 

an:l  mixing  them  well  together.  Another  way  for  the  perfect  dif- 
fusion of  the  manure  among  the  particles  of  earth,  is,  to  spread 
the  manure  in  autumn,  so  that  all  the  rains  of  this  season  may  dis- 
solve the  soluble  portions  and  carry  them  down  among  the  parti- 
cles, where  they  are  absorbed  and  retained  for  the  growing  crop. 

"In  experiments,"  continues  Mr.  Thomas,  "when  the  manure 
for  corn  was  thus  applied  in  autumn,  has  afforded  a  yield  of  about 
70  bushels  per  acre,  when  the  same  amount  applied  in  spring,  gave 
only  50  bushels.  A  thin  coating  of  manure  applied  to  winter- 
wheat  at  the  time  of  sowing,  and  was  harrowed  in,  has  increased 
the  crop  from  7  to  10  bushels  per  acre— and  in  addition  to  this,  by 
the  stronger  growth  it  has  caused,  as  well  as  by  the  protection  it 
has  afforded  to  the  surface,  it  has  not  unfrequently  saved  the  crop 
from  partial  or  total  winter-killing. 

"  In  cases  where  it  is  necessary  to  apply  coarse  manures  at  once, 
much  may  be  done  in  lessening  the  evils  of  coarseness  by  artificially 
grinding  it  into  the  soil.  The  instrument  called  the  drag-roller — 
which  is  like  the  common  roller  set  stiff  so  as  not  to  revolve — has 
been  used  to  great  advantage  for  this  purpose,  by  passing  it  over 
the  surface  in  connection  with  the  harrow.  We  have  known  this 
treatment  to  effect  a  thorough  intermixture,  and  to  more  than 
double  the  crop  obtained  by  common  management  with  common 
manure." 

TOP-DRESSING  WITH  MANURE. 


The  term  "  top-dressing  "  usually  refers  to  sowing  or  spreading 
manures  on  the  growing  crop.  For  instance,  we  top-dress  pastures 
or  meadows  by  spreading  manure  on  the  surface.  If  we  sow  ni- 
trate of  soda,  or  guano,  on  our  winter-wheat  in  the  spring^  that 
would  be  top-dressing.  We  often  sow  gypsum  on  clover,  and  on 
barley,  and  peas,  while  the  plants  are  growing  in  the  spring,  and 
this  is  top-dressing. 

*'  If  the  gypsum  was  sown  broadcast  on  the  land  before  sowing 
the  seed,"  said  the  Deacon, "  would  not  that  be  top-dressing  also  ?  " 

Strictly  speaking,  I  suppose  that  would  not  be  top-dressing. 

Top-dressing  in  the  sense  in  which  I  understand  the  term,  is 
seldom  ad  opted,  except  on  meadows  and  pastures  as  a  regular  sys- 
tem. It  is  an  after-thought.  We  have  sown  wheat  on  a  poor, 
sandy  knoll,  and  we  draw  out  some  manure  and  spread  on  it  in  the 
winter  or  early  spring;  or  we  top-dress  it  with  hen-manure,  or 
guano,  or  nitrate  of  soda  and  superphosphate.  I  do  not  say  that 
this  is  better  than  to  apply  the  manure  at  the  time  of  sowing  the 


270 


TALKS    OX    MANURES. 


w'neat,  but  if  we  neglect  to  do  so,  then  top-dressing  is  a  commend- 
able practice. 

Dr.  Voelcker  reports  the  result  of  some  experiments  in  top-dress- 
ing winter-wheat  on  the  farm  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  College  at 
Cirencester,  England.  The  manures  were  finely  sifted  and  mixed 
with  about  ten  times  their  weight  of  fine  soil,  and  sown  broadcast 
on  the  growing  wheat,  March  22.  A  fine  rain  occurred  the  follow- 
ing day,  and  washed  the  manure  into  the  soil.  The  following  is 
the  yield  per  acre : — 

No  manure 27  bushels  and  1984  Ibs.  of  straw. 

280  Ibs.  Peruvian  guano 40  2576 

195"    nitrate  of  soda 38  2695 

180   "    nitrate  of  soda,  and  168  Ibs.  of 

common  salt 40s  2736 

443  Ibs.  Proctor's  wheat-manure 39*  2668 

67^   "          "               "            "       44i  3032 

4  tons  chalk-marl 27  1872 

The  manures  in  each  case  cost  $7.80  per  acre,  except  the  large 
dose  of  Proctor's  wheat-manure,  which  cost  $11.70  per  acre.  The 
wheat  was  worth  $1.26  per  bushel.  Leaving  the  value  of  the  straw 
out  of  the  question,  the  profit  from  the  use  of  the  top  dressing  was : 

With  guano $8.70  per  acre. 

"    nitrate  of  soda 6.00 

"    nitrate  of  soda  and  common  salt 9.33 

"    443  Ibs.  wheat-manure 7.94 

"    672  "          "          "       10.16 

The  marl  did  no  good. 

The  nitrate  of  soda  and  common  salt  contained  no  phosphoric 
acid,  and  yet  produced  an  excellent  effect.  The  guano  and  the 
wheat-manure  contained  phosphoric  acid  as  well  as  nitrogen,  and 
the  following  crop  of  clover  would  be  likely  to  get  some  benefit 
from  it. 

John  Johnston  wrote  in  1868,  "  I  have  used  manure  only  as  a 
top-dressing  for  the  last  26  years,  and  I  do  think  one  load,  used  in 
that  way,  is  worth  far  more  than  two  loads  plowed  under  on  our 
stLTland." 


MANURES    ON    PERMANENT   MEADOWS.  271 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

MANURES    ON    PERMANENT    MEADOWS    AND 
PASTURES. 

In  this  country,  where  labor  is  comparatively  high,  and  hay 
often  commands  a  good  price,  a  good,  permanent  meadow  fre- 
quently affords  as  much  real  profit  as  any  other  portion  of  the 
farm.  Now  that  we  have  good  mowing-machines,  tedders,  rakes, 
and  loading  and  unloading  apparatus,  the  labor  of  hay-making 
is  greatly  lessened.  The  only  difficulty  is  to  keep  up  and  increase 
the  annual  growth  of  good  grass, 

Numerous  experiments  on  top-dressing  meadows  are  reported 
from  year  to  year.  The  results,  of  course,  differ  considerably,  being 
influenced  by  the  soil  and  season.  The  profit  of  the  practice  de- 
pends very  much  on  the  price  of  hay.  In  the  Eastern  States,  hay 
generally  commands  a  higher  relative  price  than  grain,  and  it  not 
unfrequently  happens  that  we  can  use  manure  on  grass  to  decided 
advantage. 

The  celebrated  experiments  of  Messrs.  Lawes  &  Gilbert  with 
"  Manures  on  Permanent  Meadow-land  "  were  commenced  in  1856, 
and  have  been  continued  on  the  same  plots  every  year  since  that 
time. 

"  You  need  not  be  afraid,  Deacon,"  said  I,  as  the  old  gentleman 
commenced  to  button  up  his  coat, "  I  am  not  going  in  to  the  details 
of  these  wonderful  experiments  ;  but  I  am  sure  you  will  be  inter- 
ested in  the  results  of  the  first  six  or  seven  years. 

The  following  table  explains  itself: 


272 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


Is" 

Is 

(M 


s   £   s: 

t-      o      tr : 


00       OS       O       T-H        CJCO 
<N         ?O CO         (?<         (7?  !?t 


I  I  p  II  I 


eo      o      oo;£ 


S5    $£'§£23    2J    S 

S     S-S-ig     lo     S 
t-      c- 


co      oo      oo      oo 


O  CO  «O  00  00< 

M  3<  00  t-  1-15 

1-1  rj*  O  TH  Z—C 

t-  T^  n<  O  iOJ 


(ft         Tt<          C? 

3     £     S 

^         10         W 


1  12 

•<*        W^P 


MANUKES    ON   PERMANENT   MEADOWS.  273 

These  are  all  the  figures  I  will  trouble  you  with.  The  "  mixed 
mineral  manures"  consisted  of  superphosphate  of  lime  (composed 
of  150  Ibs.  bone-ash  and  150  Ibs.  sulphuric  acid,  sp.  gr.  1.7),  800  Ibs. 
sulphate  of  potash,  200  Ibs.  sulphate  of  soda,  and  100  Ibs.  sulphate 
cf  magnesia.  The  ammonia-salts  consisted  of  equal  parts  sulphate 
and  muriate  of  ammonia,  containing  about  25  per  cent,  of  ammo- 
nia. The  manures  were  sown  as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring, 
and,  if  the  weather  was  suitable,  sometimes  in  February.  The 
farmyard-manure  was  spread  on  the  land,  in  the  first  year,  in  the 
spricg,  afterwards  in  November  or  December.  The  hay  was  cut 
from  the  middle  to  the  last  of  June ;  and  the  aftermath  was  pas- 
tured off  by  sheep  in  October. 

"  It  is  curious,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  400  Ibs.  of  ammonia-salts 
should  give  as  great  an  increase  in  the  yield  of  hay  the  first  year 
as  14  tons  of  farmyard-manure,  but  the  second  year  the  farmyard- 
rnanare  comes  out  decidedly  ahead." 

"  The  farmyard-manure,"  said  I,  "  was  applied  every  year,  at  the 
rate  of  14  gross  tons  per  acre,  for  eight  years — 1853  to  1883.  After 
1863,  this  plot  wa3  left  without  manure  of  any  kind.  The  average 
yield  of  this  plo^  during  the  first  8  years  was  4,800  Ibs.  of  hay  per 
acre. 

On  the  plot  dresssd  with  14  tons  of  farmyard-manure  and  200 
Ibs.  ammonia-salts,  the  average  yield  of  hay  for  8  years  was  5,544 
Ibs.  per  acre.  After  the  eighth  year  the  farmyard-manure  was  dis- 
continued, and  during  the  next  twelve  years  the  yield  of  hay 
averaged  3,683  Ibs.,  or  1,149  Ibs.  more  than  the  continuously  unma- 
nured  plot. 

In  1859,  superphosphate  of  lime  was  used  alone  on  plot  3,  and 
has  been  continued  ever  since.  It  seems  clear  that  this  land,  which 
had  been  in  pasture  or  meadow  for  a  hundred  years  or  more,  was 
not  deficient  in  phosphates. 

"  It  does  not  seem,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  have  been  deficient  in 
anything.  The  twentieth  crop,  on  the  continuously  unmanured 
plot  was  nearly  1£  ton  per  acre,  the  first  cutting,  and  nearly  f-ton 
the  second  cutting.  And  apparently  the  land  was  just  as  rich  in 
1875,  as  it  was  in  1856,  and  yet  over  25  tons  of  hay  had  been  cut 
and  removed  from  the  land,  without  any  manure  being  returned. 
And  yet  we  are  told  that  hay  is  a  veiy  exhausting  crop." 

"  Superphosphate  alone,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  did  very  little  to 
increase  the  yield  of  hay,  but  superphosphate  and  ammonia  pro- 
duced the  first  year,  1859,  over  a  ton  more  hay  per  acre  than  the 
superphosphate  alone,  and  when  potash  is  added  to  the  manure,  the 
yield  is  still  further  increased." 


274  ITALKS  ON  MANURES. 

"Answer  me  one  question,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  and  let  us  leave 
the  subject  In  the  light  of  these  and  other  experiments,  what  do 
you  consider  the  cheapest  and  best  manure  to  apply  to  a  perma- 
nent meadow  or  pasture?" 

"  Rich,  well-decomposed  farmyard  or  stable  manure,"  said  I, 
"and  if  it  is  not  rich,  apply  200  Ibs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre,  in 
addition.  This  will  make  it  rich.  Poor  manure,  made  from  straw, 
corn-stalks,  hay,  etc.,  is  poor  in  nitrogen,  and  comparatively  rich 
in  potash.  The  nitrate  of  soda  will  supply  the  deficiency  of  ni- 
trogen. On  the  sea-shore  fish-scrap  is  a  cheaper  source  of  nitrogen, 
and  may  be  used  instead  of  the  nitrate  of  soda." 


CHAPTER     XXXIY. 
MANURES  FOR  SPECIAL  CROPS. 

MANURES    FOR   HOPS. 

"For  hops,"  said  the  Doctor,  " there  is  nothing  better  than  rich, 
well-decomposed  farmyard-manure — such  manure  as  you  are  now 
making  from  your  pigs  that  are  bedded  with  stable-manure.  " 

"  That  is  so,"  said  I,  "  and  the  better  you  feed  your  horses  and 
pigs,  the  better  will  the  manure  be  for  hops.  In  England,  Mr. 
Paine,  of  Surrey,  made  a  series  of  experiments  with  different  ma- 
nures for  hops,  and,  as  the  result  of  four  years  trial,  reported  that 
rape-caJce,  singly,  or  in  combination,  invariably  proved  the  best 
manure  for  hops.  In  this  country,  cotton-seed,  or  cotton-seed- 
cake, would  be  a  good  substitute  for  the  rape-cake.  Whatever  ma- 
nure is  used  should  be  used  liberally.  Hops  require  a  large  amount 
of  labor  per  acre,  and  it  is,  therefore,  specially  desirable  to  obtain 
a  large  yield  per  acre.  This  can  be  accomplished  only  by  the  most 
lavish  expenditure  of  manure.  And  all  experience  seems  to  show 
that  it  must  be  manure  rich  in  nitrogen.  In  the  hop  districts  of 
England,  25  tons  of  rich  farmyard-manure  are  applied  per  acre  ; 
and  in  addition  to  this,  soot  and  rags,  both  rich  in  nitrogen,  have 
long  been  popular  auxiliaries.  The  value  of  soot  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  it  contains  from  12  to  15  per  cent  of  sulphate  of  am- 
monia, and  the  fact  that  it  has  been  so  long  used  with  success  as  a 
manure  for  hops,  seems  to  prove  that  sulphate  of  ammonia,  which 


MANUBES    FOB   SPECIAL   CBOPS.  275 

can  now  be  readily  obtained,  could  be  used  to  advantage  by  our 
hop-growers — say  at  the  rate,  in  addition  to  farm-yard  manure,  of 
500  Ibs.  per  acre,  sown  broadcast  early  in  the  spring. 

MANURES   FOR   TOBACCO. 

When  tobacco  is  grown  for  wrappers,  it  is  desirable  to  get  a 
large,  strong  leaf.  The  richest  land  is  selected  for  the  crop,  and 
large  quantities  of  the  richest  and  most  stimulating  manures  are 
used. 

Like  cabbages,  this  crop  requires  a  large  amount  of  plant-food 
per  acre ;  and,  like  them,  it  can  only  be  grown  by  constant  and 
high  manuring.  More  manure  must  be  used  than  the  plants  can 
take  up  out  of  the  soil,  and  hence  it  is,  that  Tand  which  has  been 
used  for  growing  tobacco  for  some  years,  will  be  in  high  condition 
for  other  crops  without  further  manuring. 

Farm-yard  or  stable- manure,  must  be  the  mainstay  of  the  tobac- 
co-pranter.  With  this,  he  can  use  artificial  fertilizers  to  advantage 
— such  as  fish-scrap,  woollen-rags,  Peruvian  guano,  dried  blood, 
slaughter-house  offal,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  nitrate  of  soda,  etc. 

For  choice,  high-flavored  smoking-tobacco,  the  grower  aims  to 
get  quality  rather  than  quantity.  This  seems  to  depend  more  on 
the  land  and  the  climate  than  on  the  manures  used.  Superphos- 
phate of  lime  would  be  likely  to  prove  advantageous  in  favor- 
ing the  early  growth  and  maturity  of  the  crop.  And  in  raising 
tobacco-plants  in  the  seed-bed,  I  should  expect  good  results  from 
the  use  of  superphosphate,  raked  into  the  soil  at  the  rate  of  three 
or  four  Ibs.  per  square  rod. 

MANURES   FOR   INDIAN   CORN. 

We  know  less  about  the  manurial  requirements  of  Indian  corn, 
than  of  almost  any  other  crop  we  cultivate.  We  know  that  wheat, 
barley,  oats,  and  grasses,  require  for  their  maximum  growth  a  lib- 
eral supply  of  available  nitrogen  in  the  soil.  And  such  facts  and 
experiments  as  we  have,  seem  to  indicate  that  the  same  is  also  true 
of  Indian  corn.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  as 
Indian  corn  belongs  to  the  same  botanical  order  as  wheat,  barley, 
oats,  rye,  timothy,  and  other  grasses,  the  general  manurial  require- 
ments would  be  the  same.  Such,  I  presume,  is  the  case;  and  yet 
there  seem  to  be  some  facts  that  would  incline  us  to  place  Indian 
corn  with  the  leguminous  plants,  such  as  clover,  peas,  and  beans, 
rather  than  with  the  cereals,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  etc. 

"  Why  so,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  Indian  corn  does  not  have  much 
in  common  with  beans,  p:as,  and  clover?  " 


276  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

As  we  have  shown,  clover  can  get  more  nitrogen  out  of  the  soil, 
than  wheat,  barley,  and  oats.  And  the  same  is  true  of  beans  and 
peas,  though  probably  not  to  so  great  an  extent. 

Now,  it  would  saem  that  Indian  corn  cm  got  more  nitrogen  out 
of  a  soil,  than  wheat,  barley,  or  oats — and  to  this  extent,  at 
least,  we  may  consider  Indian  corn  as  a  renovating  crop.  In  other 
words,  the  Indian  corn  can  get  more  nitrogen  out  of  the  soil,  than 
wheat,  barley,  and  oats — and  when  we  feed  out  the  corn  and 
stalks  on  the  farm,  we  have  more  food  and  more  manure  than  if 
we  raised  and  fed  out  a  crop  of  oats,  barley,  or  wheat.  If  this 
idea  is  correct,  then  Indian  corn,  when  consumed  on  the  farm, 
should  not  be  classed  with  what  the  English  farmers  term  u  white 
crops,"  but  rather  with  the  "  green  crops."  In-other  wor.ls,  Indian 
corn  is  what  c  1:1  writers  used  to  call  a  "fallow  crop" — or  what 
we  call  a  renovating  crop. 

If  this  is  so,  then  the  growth  and  consumption  of  Indian  corn  on 
the  farm,  as  is  the  case  with  clover,  should  leave  the  farm  richer 
for  wheat,  rather  than  poorer.  I  do  not  mean  richer  absolutely, 
but  richer  so  far  as  the  available  supply  of  plant-food  is  concerned. 

"  It  may  be  that  you  are  right,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  when  corn  is 
grown  for  fodder,  but  not  when  grown  for  the  grain.  It  is  the  for- 
mation of  the  seed  which  exhausts  the  soil." 

If  I  coul.1  be  sure  that  it  was  true  of  corn-fodder,  I  should  have 
little  doubt  that  it  is  true  also  of  corn  as  ordinarily  grown  for 
rrain  and  stalks.  For,  I  think,  it  is  clear  that  the  grain  is  formed 
at  the  expense  of  the  stalks,  and  not  directly  from  the  soil.  The 
corn-fodder  will  take  from  the  soil  as  much  nitrogen  and  phos- 
phoric acid  as  the  crop  of  corn,  and  the  more  it  will  take,  the  more 
it  approximates  in  character  to  clover  and  other  renovating  crops. 
If  corn-fodder  is  a  renovating  crop,  so  is  the  ordinary  corn-crop, 
also,  provided  it  is  consumed  on  the  farm. 

"  But  what  makes  you  think,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  corn  can 
get  more  nitrogen  from  the  soil,  than  wheat?  " 

"  That  is  the  real  point,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "  and  I  will  ask  you  this 
question.  Suppose  you  had  a  field  of  wheat  seeded  down  to  clover, 
and  the  clover  failed.  After  harvest,  you  plow  up  half  of  the  field 
and  sow  it  to  wheat  again,  the  other  half  of  the  field  you  plow  in 
the  spring,  and  plant  with  Indian  corn.  Now,  suppose  you  get  15 
bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  how  much  corn  do  you  think  you 
would  be  likely  to  get  ?  " 

"  Well,  that  depends,"  said  the  Deacon,  "but  I  should  expect  at 
least  30  bushels  of  shelled  corn  per  acre." 

"Exactly,  and  I  thin'.i  most  farmers  would  tell  you  the  same ; 


MANURES    FOR    SPECIAL    CROPS.  277 

you  get  twice  as  much  corn  and  stalks  to  the  acre  as  you  would  of 
wheat  and  straw.  In  other  words,  while  the  wheat  cannot  find 
more  nitrogen  than  is  necessary  to  produce  15  bushels  of  wheat 
and  straw,  toe  corn  can  find,  and  does  find,  take  up,  and  organize, 
at  least  twice  as  much  nitrogen  as  the  wheat." 

If  these  are  facts,  then  the  remarks  we  have  made  in  regard  to 
the  value  of  clover  as  a  fertilizing  crop,  are  applicable  in  some  de- 
grea  to  Indian  corn.  To  grow  clover  and  sell  it,  will  in  the  end 
impoverish  the  soil ;  to  grow  clover  and  feed  it  out,  will  enrich  the 
land.  And  the  same  will  be  true  of  Indian  corn.  It  will  gather 
up  nitrogen  that  the  wheat-crop  can  not  appropriate ;  and  when 
the  corn  and  stalks  are  fed  out,  somo  90  per  cent  of  the  nitrogen 
will  be  left  in  the  manure. 

"  You  do  not  think,  then,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  nitrogen  is 
such  an  important  element  in  manure  for  corn,  as  it  is  in  a  manure 
for  wheat." 

I  have  not  said  that.  If  we  want  a  large  crop  of  corn,  we  shall 
usually  need  a  liberal  supply  of  available  nitrogen.  But  this  is 
because  a  larger  crop  of  corn  means  a  much  larger  produce  per 
acre,  than  a  large  crop  of  wheat.  Forty  bushsls  of  wheat  per  acre 
is  an  unusually  large  crop  with  us  ;  but  80  bushels  of  shelled  corn, 
can  be  grown  in  a  favorable  season,  and  on  rich,  well-cultivated 
land.  As  the  Deacon  has  said,  30  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  can  bo 
grown  as  easily  as  15  bushels  of  wheat ;  and  it  is  quite  probablo,  in 
many  cases,  that  a  manure  containing  no  nitrogen,  might  give  us 
a  crop  of  35  or  40  bushels  per  acre.  In  other  words,  up  to  a  cer- 
tain point,  manures  containing  mineral,  or  carbonaceous  matter, 
might  frequently,  in  ordinary  agriculture,  increase  the  yield  of  In- 
dian corn  ;  while  on  similar  land,  such  manures  would  have  little 
effect  on  whe.it. 

"That  is  so,"  said  the  Deacon,  "we  all  know  that  plaster  fre- 
quently increases  the  growth  of  corn,  while  it  seldom  does  much 
good  on  wheat." 

But,  after  you  have  got  as  large  a  crop  as  the  land  will  produce, 
aided  by  plaster,  ashes,  and  superphosphate,  say  40  bushels  of 
shelled  corn  per  acre,  then  if  you  want  to  raise  70  bushels  per  acre, 
you  must  furnish  tho  soil  with  manures  containing  sufficient  avail- 
able nitrogen. 

Some  years  ago,  I  made  some  careful  experiments  with  artificial 
manures  on  Indian  corn. 
"  Oh,  yes,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  they  were  made  on  the  south  lot, 


278  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

in  front  of  my  house,  and  I  recollect  that  the  N.  Y.  State  Ag. 
Society  awarded  you  a  prize  of  $75  for  them." 

"  And  I  recollect,"  said  I,  "  how  you  and  some  other  neighbors 
laughed  at  me  for  spending  so  much  time  in  measuring  the  land 
aad  applying  the  manures,  and  measuring  the  crop.  But  I  wish  I 
could  have  afforded  to  continue  them.  A  single  experiment,  how- 
ever carefully  made,  can  not  be  depended  on.  However,  I  will 
give  the  results  for  what  they  arc  worth,  with  some  remarks  made 
at  the  time : 

"  The  soil  on  which  the  experiments  were  made,  is  a  light,  sandy 
loam.  It  has  been  under  cultivation  for  upwards  of  twenty  years, 
and  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain  has  never  been  manured.  It  has  been 
somewhat  impoverished  by  the  growth  of  cereal  crops,  and  it  was 
thought  that  for  this  reason,  and  on  account  of  its  light  texture 
and  active  character,  which  would  cause  the  manures  to  act  imme- 
diately, it  was  well  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  effect 
of  different  manurial  substances  on  the  corn-crop. 

"  The  land  was  clover-sod,  two  years  old,  pastured  the  previous 
summer.  It  was.  plowed  early  in  the  spring,  and  harrowed  until 
in  excellent  condition.  The  corn  was  planted  May  23,  in  hills  3  £ 
feet  apart  each  way. 

"  The  manures  were  applied  in  the  hill  immediately  before  the 
seed  was  planted. 

"With  superphosphate  of  lime,  and.  with  plaster  (gypsum,  or 
sulphate  of  lime),  the  seed  was  placed  directly  on  top  of  the  ma- 
nure, as  it  is  well  known  that  these  manures  do  not  injure  the 
germinating  principle  of  even  the  smallest  seeds. 

"  The  ashes  were  dropped  in  the  hill,  and  then  covered  with  soil, 
and  the  seed  planted  on  the  top,  so  that  it  should  not  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  ashes. 

"  Guano  and  sulphate  of  ammonia  were  treated  in  the  same  way. 

"  On  the  plots  where  ashes  and  guano,  or  ashes  and  sulphate  of 
ammonia  were  both  used,  the  ashes  were  first  put  in  the  hill,  a-  d 
covered  with  soil,  and  the  guano  or  sulphate  of  ammonia  placed 
on  the  top,  and  also  covered  with  soil  before  the  seed  was  planted. 
The  ashes  and  superphosphate  of  lime  was  also  treated  in  the  same 
way.  It  is  well  known  that  unleached  ashes,  mixed  either  with 
guano,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  or  superphosphate,  mutually  decom- 
pose each  other,  setting  froe  the  ammonia  of  the  guano  and  sul- 
phate of  ammonia,  and  converting  the  soluble  phosphate  of  the 
superphosphate  of  lime  into  the  insoluble  form  in  which  it  existed 
before  treatment  with  sulphuric  acicl.  All  the  plots  were  planted 
on  the  same  day,  and  the  manures  weighed  and  applied  under  my 


own 


MANURES    FOR    SPECIAL    CROPS. 

immediate  supervision.      Everything  was    done  that  was 

deemed  necessary  to  secure  accuracy. 

"The  following  table  gives  the  results  of  the  experiments: 

TABLE    SHOWING    THE   RESULTS   OF    EXPERIMENTS   ON    INDIAN   CORN. 


DESCRIPTION.!  OF  MANURE  AND 
QUANTITIES  APPLIED  PER  ACRE. 


1.  No  manure 
2. 100  Ibs.  plaster  (g.  psum  or  sulphate  of 
lime) 


4. 


400  Ibs.   unleached   wood-ashes   and 

100  Ibs.  plaster  (mixed) 

150  Ibs.  sulphate  of  ammonia 

300  Ibs.  superphosphate  of  lime 


6.  150  Ibs.  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  800 
I    Ibs  superphosphate  of  lime  (mixed) 

7.  400  Ibs.  unleached   wood  ashes,  (un- 

certain)   ! 

8.  150  Ibs.  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  400 

Ibs.  unleached    wood-ashes  (sown 
I    separately) 

9.  300  Ibs.  superpho-phate  of  lime,  150 

Ibs.  sulph.  ammonia,  and  400  Ibs. 
unleached  wood-ashes. . . 


400  Ibs.  unleached  wood-ashes. 


10. 

11.  100  Ibs.  plaster.  400  Ibs.  unleached 
wood-ashes,  300  Ibs  superphos- 
phate of  lime,  and  200  Ibs.  Peruvian 
guano 


75  Ibs  sulphate  of  ammonia 

•200  Ibs.  Peruvian  g  ano 

400  Ibs.  unleached  wood-ashes,  100 
Ibs.  plaster,  and  500  Ibs.  Peruvian 
guano 


Ill 


67 

78 

78 
105 
78 

90 
72 

97 
108 


105 
88 
101 


125 


10 


25 


|b 


fiS 


u  The  superphosphate  of  lime  was  made  on  purpose  for  these 
experiments,  and  was  a  pure  mineral  manure  of  superior  quality, 
mad3  from  calcined  bones ;  it  cost  about  2£  cents  per  pound.  The 
sulphate  of  ammonia  was  a  good,  commercial  article,  obtained 
from  London,  at  a  cost  of  about  seven  cents  per  pound.  The  ashes 
ware  made  from  beech  and  hard  maple  (Acer  S2ccharinum)  wood, 
and  were  sifted  through  a  fine  sieve  before  being  weighed.  The 
guano  was  the  best  Peruvian,  costing  about  three  cents  per  pound. 
It  was  crashed  and  sifted  before  using.  In  sowing  the  ashes 
on  plot  7,  an  error  occurred  in  their  application,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  checking  the  result,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  repeat 
the  experiment  on  plot  10. 

"  On  plot  5,  with  300  Ibs.  of  superphosphate  of  lime  per  acre,  the 
plants  came  up  first,  and  exhibted  a  healthy,  dark-green  appear- 


280  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

ance,  which  they  retained  for  some  time.  This  result  was  not  an- 
ticipated, though  it  is  well  known  that  superphosphate  of  lime  has 
the  effect  of  stimulating  the  germination  of  turnip-seed,  and  the 
early  growth  of  the  plants  to  an  astonishing  degree;  yet,  as  it  has 
no  such  effect  on  wheat,  it  appeared  probable  that  it  would  not 
produce  this  effect  on  Indian  corn,  which,  in  chemical  composition, 
is  very  similar  to  wheat.  The  result  shows  how  uncertain  are  all 
speculations  in  regard  to  the  manurial  requirements  of  plants. 
This  immediate  effect  of  superphosphate  of  lime  on  ccrn  was  so 
marked,  that  the  men  (who  were,  at  the  time  of  planting,  somewhat 
inclined  to  be  skeptical,  in  regard  to  the  value  of  such  small  doses 
of  manure),  declared  that  '  superphosphate  beats  all  creation  for 
corn.'  The  difference  in  favor  of  superphosphate,  at  the  time  of 
hoeing,  was  very  perceptible,  even  at  some  distance. 

"  Although  every  precaution  was  taken  that  was  deemed  ne- 
cessary, to  prevent  the  manures  from  mixing  in  the  hill,  or  from 
injuring  the  seed,  yet,  it  was  found,  that  those  plots  dressed  with 
ashes  and  guano,  or  with  ashes  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  were  in- 
jured to  some  extent.  Shortly  after  the  corn  was  planted,  heavy 
rain  set  in,  and  washed  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  guano,  down 
into  the  ashes,  and  mutual  decomposition  took  place,  with  more 
or  less  loss  of  ammonia.  In  addition  to  this  loss  of  ammonia,  theso 
manures  came  up  to  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  the  form  of  an 
excrescence,  so  hard  that  the  plants  coulil  with  difficulty  penetrate 
through  it. 

"It  will  be  seen,  by  examining  the  table,  that  although  the  su- 
perphosphate of  lime  had  a  good  effect  during  the  eaily  stages  of 
the  growth  of  the  plants,  yet  the  increase  of  ears  of  corn  in  the  end 
did  not  come  up  to  these  early  indications.  On  plot  5,  with  300  Ibs. 
of  superphosphate  of  lime  per  acre,  the  yield  is  precisely  the  same 
as  on  plot  2,  with  100  Ibs.  of  plaster  (sulphate  of  lime),  per  acre. 
Now,  superphosphate  of  lime  is  composed  necessarily  of  soluble 
phosphate  of  lime  and  plaster,  or  sulphate  of  lime,  formed  from  a 
combination  of  the  sulphuric  acid,  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
superphosphate,  with  the  lime  of  the  bones.  In  the  300  Ibs.  cf 
superphosphate  of  lime,  sown  on  plot  5,  there  would  be  about  100 
Ibs.  of  plaster ;  and  as  the  effect  of  this  dressing  is  no  greater  than 
was  obtained  from  the  100  Ibs.  of  plaster,  sown  on  plot  2,  it  fol- 
lows, that  the  good  effect  of  the  superphosphate  of  lime  was  due 
to  the  plaster  that  it  contained. 

"  Again,  on  plot  4,  with  150  Ibs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  per 
acre,  we  have  90  bushels  of  ears  of  sound  corn,  and  15  bushels  of 
ears  of  soft  corn,  ('nubbins,')  per  acre  ;  or  a  total  increase  over  the 


MAX  LEES    FOE    SPECIAL    CHOPS.  281 

plot  without  manure,  of  38  bushels.  Now,  the  sulphate  of  ammo- 
nia contains  no  phosphate  of  liine,  and  the  fact  that  such  a  manure 
gives  a  considerable  increase  of  crop,  confirms  the  conclusion  wo 
have  arrived  at,  from  a  comparison  of  the  results  on  plots  2  and  5; 
that  the  increase  from  the  superphosphate  of  lime,  is  not  due  to 
the  phosphate  of  lime  which  it  contains,  unless  we  are  to  conclude 
that  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  rendered  the  phosphate  of  lime  in 
the  soil  more  readily  soluble,  and  thus  furnished  an  increased 
quantity  in  an  available  form  for  assimilation  by  the  plants — 
a  conclusion,  which  the  results  with  superphosphate  alone,  oa 
plot  5,  and  with  superphosphate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  com- 
bined, on  plot  6,  do  not  sustain. 

"On  plot  12,  half  the  quantity  of  sulphate  of  ammonia,  was 
used  as  on  plot  4,  and  theincroaso  is  a  little  more  than  half  what  it 
is  where  double  the  quantity  was  us?d.  Ajain,  on  plot  13,  200  Ibs. 
of  Peruvian  guano  per  acre,  gives  nearly  as  great  an  increase  of 
sound  corn,  as  the  150  Ibs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia.  Now,  200  Ibs. 
of  Peruvian  guano  contains  nearly  as  much  ammonia  as  150  Ibs. 
sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  the  increase  in  both  cases  is  evidently 
due  to  the  ammonia  of  these  manures.  TJC  200  Ibs.  of  Peruvian 
guano,  contained  about  50  Ibs.  of  phosphato  of  lime ;  but  as  the  sul- 
phate of  ammonia,  which  contains  no  phosphate  of  lime,  gives  as 
great  an  increase  as  the  guano,  it  follows,  that  the  phosphate  of 
lime  in  the  guano,  had  little,  if  any  effect;  a  result  precisely  simi- 
lar to  that  obtained  with  superphosphate  of  lime. 

"  We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  on  this  soil,  which  has  never 
been  manured,  and  which  has  been  cultivated  for  many  years  with 
the  Ceralia—  or,  in  other  words,  with  crops  which  remove  a  large 
quantity  of  phosphate  of  lime  from  the  soil — the  phosphate  of 
lime,  relatively  to  the  ammonia,  is  not  deficient.  If  such  was  not 
the  case,  an  application  of  soluble  phosphate  of  lime  would  have 
given  an  increase  of  crop,  which  we  have  shown  was  not  the  cask 
in  any  one  of  these  experiments. 

*'  Plot  10,  with  400  Ibs.  of  unleachei  wood-ashes  per  acre,  pro- 
duces the  same  quantity  of  sound  corn,  with  an  extra  bushel  of 
'  nubbins '  per  acre,  as  plot  1,  without  any  manure  at  all ;  ashes, 
therefore,  applied  alone,  may  be  said  to  have  had  no  effect  what- 
ever. On  plot  3,  400  Ibs.  of  ashes,  and  100  Ibs.  of  plaster,  give  the 
same  total  number  of  bushels  per  acre,  as  plot  2,  with  100  Ibs.  of 
plaster  alone.  Plot  8,  with  400  Ibs.  ashes,  and  150  Ibs.  of  sulphate 
of  ammonia,  yields  three  bushels  of  sound  corn,  and  five  bushels 
of  '  nubbins '  per  acre,  less  than  plot  4,  with  150  Ibs.  sulphata  of 


282  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

ammonia  alone.  This  result  may  be  ascribed  to  tlie  fact  previously 
alluded  to— the  ashes  dissipated  some  of  the  ammonia. 
"Plot  11,  with  100  Ibs.  of  plaster,  400  Ibs.  ashes,  300  Ibs.  of  super- 
phosphate of  lime,  and  20C  Ibs.  Peruvian  guano  (which  contains 
about  as  much  ammonia  as  150  Ibs.  sulphate  of  ammonia),  pro- 
duced precisely  the  same  number  of  total  bushels  per  acre,  as  plot 
4,  with  150  Ibs.  sulphate  of  ammonia  alone,  and  but  4  bushels  more 
per  acre,  than  plot  13,  with  200  Ibs.  Peruvian  guano  alone.  It  is 
evident,  from  these  results,  that  neither  ashes  nor  phosphates  had 
much  effect  on  Indian  corn,  on  this  impoverished  soil.  Plot  14  re- 
ceived the  largest  dressing  of  ammonia  (500  Ibs.  Peruvian  guano), 
and  produced  much  the  largest  crop;  though  the  increase  is  not  so 
great  in  proportion  to  the  guano,  as  where  smaller  quantities  were 
used. 

"  The  manure  which  produced  the  most  profitable  result,  was 
the  100  Ibs.  of  plaster,  on  plot  2.  The  200  Ibs.  of  Peruvian  guano, 
on  plot  13,  and  which  cost  about  $6,  gave  an  increase  of  14  bushels 
of  shelled  corn,  and  6  bushels  of  '  nubbins.'  This  will  pay  at  the 
present  price  of  corn  in  Rochester,  although  the  profit  is  not  very 
great.  The  superphosphate  of  lime,  although  a  very  superior 
article,  and  estimated  at  cost  price,  in  no  case  paid  for  itself.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  ashes. 

"But  the  object  of  the  experiment  was  not  so  much  to  ascertain 
what  manures  will  pay,  but  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  what  constitu- 
ents of  manures  are  required,  in  greatest  quantity,  for  the  maxi- 
mum growth  of  corn.  *  *  Hitherto,  no  experiments  have  been 
made  in  this  country,  on  Indian  corn,  that  afforded  any  certain  in- 
formation on  this  point.  Indeed,  we  believe  no  satisfactory  experi- 
ments have  been  made  on  Indian  corn,  in  any  country,  that  throw 
any  definite  light  on  this  interesting  and  important  question.  A. 
few  years  ago,  Mr.  Lawcs  made  similar  experiments  to  those  given 
above,  on  his  farm,  at  Rothamsted,  England ;  but  owing  to  the 
coolness  of  the  English  climate,  the  crop  did  not  arrive  at  maturity. 

"Numerous  experiments  have  been  made  in  this  country,  with 
guano  and  superphosphate  of  lime ;  but  the  superphosphates  used 
were  commercial  articles,  containing  more  or  less  ammonia,  and  if 
they  are  of  any  benefit  to  those  crops  to  which  they  are  applied,  it 
is  a  matter  of  uncertainty  whether  the  beneficial  effect  of  the  appli- 
cation is  due  to  the  soluble  phosphate  of  lime,  or  to  the  ammonia. 
On  the  other  hand,  guano  contains  both  ammonia  and  phosphate ; 
and  we  are  equally  at  a  loss  to  determine,  whether  the  effect  is  at- 
tributable to  the  ammonia  or  phosphate,  or  both.  In  order,  there- 
fore, to  determine  satisfactorily,  which  of  the  several  ingredients 


MANURES    FOIl   SPECIAL    CROPS.  283 

of  plants  is  required  in  greatest  proportion,  for  the  maximum 
growth  of  any  particular  crop,  we  must  apply  thes2  ingredients  sep- 
arately, or  in  such  definite  compounds,  as  will  enable  us  to  deter- 
mine to  what  particular  element  or  compounds  the  beneficial  effect 
is  to  be  ascribed.  It  was  for  this  reason,  that  sulphate  of  ammo- 
nia, and  a  purely  mineral  superphosphate  of  lime,  were  used  in 
the  above  experiments.  No  one  would  think  of  using  sulphate  of 
ammonia  at  its  price,  [sulphate  of  ammonia  is  now  cheaper,  while 
Peruvian  guano  is  more  costly  and  less  rich  in  ammonia],  as  an 
ordinary  manure,  for  the  reason,  that  the  same  quantity  of  ammo- 
nia can  be  obtained  in  other  substances,  such  as  barnyard-manure, 
Peruvian  guano,  etc.,  at  a  much  cheaper  rate.  But  these  manures 
contain  all  the  elements  of  plants,  and  we  can  not  know  whether 
the  effect  produced  by  them  is  due  to  the  ammonia,  phosphates,  or 
any  other  ingredients.  For  the  purpose  of  experiment,  therefore, 
we  must  use  a  manure  that  furnishes  ammonia  without  any  ad- 
mixture of  phosphates,  potash,  soda,  lime,  magnesia,  etc.,  even 
though  it  cost  much  more  than  we  could  obtain  the  same  amount 
of  ammonia  in  other  manures.  I  make  these  remarks  in  order  to 
correct  a  very  common  opinion,  that  if  experiments  do  not  pay, 
they  are  useless.  The  ultimate  object,  indeed,  is  to  ascertain  the 
most  profitable  method  of  manuring ;  but  the  means  of  obtaining 
this  information,  can  not  in  all  cases  be  profitable. 

"  Similar  experiments  to  those  made  on  Indian  corn,  were  macle 
on  soil  of  a  similar  character,  on  about  an  acre  of  Chinese  sugar- 
cane. I  do  not  propose  to  give  the  results  in  detail,  at  this  time, 
and  allude  to  them  merely  to  mention  one  very  important  fact,  the 
superphosphate  of  lime  had  a  very  marked  effect.  This  manure  was 
applied  in  the  hill  on  one  plot  (the  twentieth  of  an  acre,)  at  the 
rate  of  400  Ibs.  per  acre,  and  the  plants  on  this  plot  came  up  first, 
and  outgrew  all  the  others  from  the  start,  and  ultimately  attained 
the  height  of  about  ten  feet ;  while  on  the  plot  receiving  no  ma- 
n  ire,  the  plants  were  not  five  feet  high.  This  is  a  result  entirely 
different  from  what  I  should  have  expected.  It  has  been  supposed, 
from  the  fact  that  superphosphate  of  lime  had  no  effect  on  wheat, 
that  it  would  probably  have  little  effect  on  corn,  or  on  the  sugar- 
cane, or  other  ceralia ;  and  that,  as  ammonia  is  so  beneficial  for 
wheat,  it  would  probably  be  beneficial  for  corn  and  sugar-cane. 
The  above  experiments  indicate  that  such  is  the  case,  in  regard  to 
Indian  corn,  so  far  as  the  production  of  grain  is  concerned,  though, 
as  we  have  stated,  it  is  not  true  in  reference  to  the  early  growth  of 
the  plants.  The  superphosphate  of  lime  on  Indian  corn,  stimulated 
the  growth  of  the  plants,  in  a  very  decided  manner  at  first,  so 


234 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


much  so,  that  we  were  led  to  suppose,  for  some  time,  that  it  would 
give  the  largest  crop ;  but  at  harvest,  it  was  found  that  it  produced 
no  more  corn  than  plaster.  These  results  seem  to  indicate,  that 
superphosphate  of  lime  stimulates  the  growth  of  stalks  and  leaves, 
and  has  little  effect  in  increasing  the  production  of  seed.  In  raising 
Indian  corn,  for  fodder  or  for  soiling  purposes,  superphosphate  of 
lime  may  be  beneficial,  as  well  as  in  growing  the  sorgaum  for  sugar- 
making  purposes,  or  for  focldder — though,  perhaps,  not  for  seed." 

"  In  addition  to  the  experiments  given  above,  I  also  made  the 
same  season,  on  an  adjoining  field,  another  set  of  experiments  on 
Indian  corn,  the  results  of  which  are  given  below. 

"  The  laud  on  which  these  experiments  were  made,  is  of  a  some- 
what firmer  texture  than  that  on  which  the  other  set  of  experi- 
ments was  made.  It  is  situated  about  a  mile  from  the  barn-yard, 
and  on  this  account,  has  seldom,  if  ever  been  manured.  It  has 
been  cultivated  for  many  years  with  ordinary  farm  crops.  It  was 
plowed  early  in  the  spring,  and  it  was  harrowed  until  quite 
mellow.  The  corn  was  planted  May  30,  1857.  Each  experiment 
occupied  one-tenth  of  an  acre,  consisting  of  4  rows  3£  feet  apart, 
and  the  same  distance  between  the  hills  in  the  rows,  with  one  row 
without  manure  between  each  experimental  plot. 

"  The  manure  was  applied  in  the  hill,  in  the  same  manner  as  in 
the  first  set  of  experiments. 

"  The  barnyard-manure  was  well-rotted,  and  consisted  princi- 
pally of  cow-dung  with  a  little  horse-dung.  Twenty  two-horse 
wagon  loads  of  this  was  applied  per  acre,  and  each  load  would 
probably  weigh  about  one  ton.  It  was  put  in  the  hill  and  covered 
with  soil,  and  the  seed  then  planted  on  the  top. 

"  The  following  table  gives  the  results  of  the  experiments : 

TABLE  8HOW1NQ  THE  RE-ULT3  OF    EXPERIMENTS  OX  INDIAN   COKN,   MADE    NEAR 
ROCHESTER,   N.   T  ,   IX  THE  YEAR   1357. 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  MANURES,  AND 
QUANTITIES  APPLIED  PEJl  ACRE. 


1 .  No  manure 

2.  20  loads  barn-yard  manure 

3.  150  Ibs.  sulphate  of  ammonia 

4.  300  Ibs.  superphosphate  of  lime 

5.  400  Ibs.  Peruvian  guano 

6.  400  Ibs.  of  "  Cancer  in  e,"  or  fish  man'e 


*£ 


71 

82* 

85 

88 

90 

85 


li  n 


87 
95* 
115 

120 
105 


MANURES    FOR    SPECIAL    CROPS.  285 

*  As  before  stated,  the  land  was  of  a  stronger  nature  than  that 
o-1  which  the  first  set  of  experiments  wac  made,  and  it  was  evi- 
dently in  better  condition,  as  the  plot  having  no  manure  produced 
20  bushels  of  ears  of  corn  per  acre  more  than  the  plot  without 
manure  in  the  other  field. 

"  On  plot  4,  800  Ibs.  of  superphosphate  of  lime  gives  a  total  in- 
crease of  11  bushels  of  eais  of  corn  per  acre  over  the  unnianured 
plot,  agreeing  exactly  with  the  increase  obtained  from  the  same 
quantity  of  the  same  manure  on  plot  5,  in  the  first  set  of  experi- 
ments. 

"  Plot  3,  dressed  with  150  Ibs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  per  acre, 
gives  a  total  increase  of  28  bushels  of  ears  of  corn  per  acre,  over 
the  unmanurecl  plot ;  and  an  increase  of  22|  bushels  of  ears  per 
acre  over  plot  2,  which  received  20  loads  of  good,  well-rotted  barn- 
yard-dung per  acre. 

"  Plot  5,  with  400  Ibs.  of  Peruvian  guano  per  acre  gives  the  best 
crop  of  this  series  viz  :  an  increase  of  83  bushels  of  corn  per  acre 
over  the  unmanured  plot,  and  27-J  over  the  plot  manured  with 
20  loads  of  barnyard-dung.  The  400  Ibs.  of  '  Cancerine  ' — an  arti- 
ficial manure  made  in  New  Jersey  from  fish — gives  a  total  in- 
crease of  18  bushels  of  ears  per  acre  over  the  unmanured  plot,  and 
12*  bushels  more  than  that  manured  with  barn-yard  duug,  though 
5  bushels  of  ears  of  sound  corn  and  10  bushels  of  'nubbins'  per 
acre  less  than  the  same  quantity  of  Peruvian  guano." 

MANURES  FOR  TURNIPS. 

To  raise  a  largo  crop  of  turnips,  especially  of  ruta-bagas,  there  is 
nothing  better  than  a  liberal  application  of  rich,  well-rotted  farm- 
yard-manure, and  250  to  300  Ibs.  of  good  superphosphate  of  lime 
per  acre,  drilled  in  with  the  seed. 

I  have  seen  capital  crops  of  common  turnips  grown  with  no 
other  manure  except  300  Ibs.  of  superphosphate  per  acre,  drilled 
with  th?  se2d.  Superphosphate  has  a  wonderful  effect  on  the  cb- 
velopment  of  the  roots  of  the  turnip.  And  this  is  the  secret  of  its 
great  value  for  this  crop.  It  increases  the  growth  of  the  young 
plant,  developing  the  formation  of  the  roots,  and  when  the  turnip 
once  gets  full  possession  of  the  soil,  it  appropriates  all  the  plant- 
food  it  can  find.  A  turnip-crop  grown  with  superphosphate,  can 
get  from  the  soil  much  more  nitrogen  than  a  crop  of  wheat.  The 
turnip-crop,  when  supplied  with  superphosphate,  is  a  good  "  scav- 
enger." It  will  gather  up  anr!  organize  into  good  food  the  refuse 
plant-food  left  in  the  soil.  It  is  to  the  surface  soil,  what  clover  is 
to  the  subsoil. 


286  TALKS    ON    MANUIIES. 

To  the  market  gardener,  or  to  a  farmer  who  manures  heavily, 
common  turnips  drills.!  in  with  superphosphate  will  prove  a  valu- 
able crop.  On  such  land  no  other  manure  will  be  needed.  I  can- 
not too  earnestly  recommend  the  use  of  superphosphate  as  a  ma- 
nure for  turnips. 

For  Swede  turnips  or  ruta-bagas,  it  will  usually  be  necessary,  in 
order  to  secure  a  maximum  crop,  to  use  a  manure  which,  in  addi- 
tion to  superphosphate,  contains  available  nitrogen.  A  good  dress- 
ing of  rich,  well-rotted  manure,  spread  on  the  land,  and  plowed 
under,  and  then  300  Ibs.  of  superphosphate  drilled  in  witii  the 
seed,  would  be  likely  to  give  a  good  crop. 

In  the  absence  of  manure,  there  is  probably  nothing  better  for 
the  rutabagas  than  300  Ibs.  of  so-called  "  rectified "  Peruvian 
guano,  that  is,  guano  treated  with  sulphuric  acid,  to  render  the 
phosphates  soluble.  Such  a  guano  is  guaranteed  to  contain  10  per 
cent  of  ammonia,  and  10  per  cent  of  soluble  phosphoric  acid,  and 
would  be  a  good  dressing  for  Swede  turnips. 

The  best  way  to  use  guano  for  turnips  is  to  sow  it  broadcast  on 
the  land,  and  harrow  it  in,  and  then  either  drill  in  the  turnip-ssed 
on  the  flat,  or  on  ridges.  The  latter  is  decidedly  the  better  plan, 
provided  you  have  the  necessary  implements  to  do  the  work  expe- 
ditiously.  A  double  mould-board  plow  will  ridge  up  four  acres  a 
day,  and  the  guano  being  previously  sown  on  the  surface,  will  be 
turned  up  with  the  msllow  surface-soil  into  the  ridge,  where  the 
seed  is  to  be  sown.  The  young  plants  get  hold  of  it  and  grow  so 
rapidly  as  to  be  soon  out  of  danger  from  the  turnip-beetle. 

MANURES  FOR  MANGEL-WURZEL  OR  SUGAR-BEETS. 

When  sugar-beets  are  grown  for  feeding  to  stock,  there  is  prob- 
ably little  or  no  difference  in  the  manurial  requirements  of  sugar- 
beets  and  mangel-wurzel.  Our  object  is  to  get  as  large  a  growth 
as  possible  consistent  with  quality. 

44  Large  roots,"  said  the  Deacon,  u  have  been  proved  to  contain 
less  nutriment  than  small  roots." 

True,  but  it  does  not  follow  from  this  that  rich  land,  or  heavy 
manuring  is  the  chief  cause  of  this  difference.  It  is  much  more 
likely  to  be  due  to  the  variety  selected.  The  seed-growers  have 
been  breeding  solely  for  size  and  shape.  They  have  succeeded  to 
such  an  extent  that  84  gross  tons  of  roots  have  been  grown  on  an 
acre.  This  is  equal  to  over  94  of  our  tons  per  acre.  "  That  is  an 
enormous  crop,"  said  the  Deacon;  "and  it  would  require  some 
labor  to  put  10  acres  of  them  in  a  cellar." 

"If  they  were  as  nutritious  as  ordinary  mangels,"  said  I,  "  that 


MANURES    FOR    SPECIAL    CROPS.  287 

would  be  no  argument  against  them.  But  such  is  not  the  case. 
In  a  letter  just  received  from  Mr.  Lawes,  (May,  1878,)  he  charac- 
terizes them  as  *  bladders  of  water  and  salts.' " 

Had  the  seed  growers  bred  for  quiLty,  the  roots  would  have 
been  of  less  size,  but  they  would  contain  more  nutriment. 

What  we  want  is  a  variety  that  has  been  bred  with  reference  to 
quality ;  and  when  this  is  secured,  we  need  not  fear  to  make  the 
land  rich  and  otherwise  aim  to  secure  great  growth  and  large-sized 
roots. 

It  certainly  is  not  good  economy  to  select  a  variety  which  has 
been  bred  for  years  to  produce  large-sized  roots,  and  then  sow  this 
seed  on  poor  land  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  small-sized  roots. 
Better  take  a  variety  bred  for  quality,  and  then  make  the  land  rich 
enough  to  produce  a  good  crop. 

We  are  not  likely  to  err  in  making  the  land  too  rich  for  mangel- 
wurzel  or  for  sugar-beets  grown  for  stock.  When  sugar-beets  are 
grown  for  sugar,  we  must  aim  to  use  manures  favorable  for  the  pro- 
duction of  sugar,  or  rather  to  avoid  using  those  which  are  un- 
favorable. But  where  sugar-beets  are  grown  for  food,  our  aim  is 
to  get  a  large  amount  of  nutriment  to  the  acre.  And  it  is  by  no 
means  clear  to  my  mind  that  there  is  much  to  be  gained  by  select- 
ing the  sugar-beet  instead  of  a  good  variety  of  mangel-wurzel.  It 
is  not  a  difficult  matter,  by  selecting  the  largest  roots  for  seed,  and 
by  liberal  manuring,  and  continuously  selecting  the  largest  roots, 
to  convert  the  sugar-beet  into  a  mangel-wurzel. 

When  sugar-beets  are  grown  for  food,  we  may  safely  manure 
them  as  we  would  mangel-wurzel,  and  treat  the  two  crops  pre- 
cisely alike. 

I  usually  raise  from  ten  to  fifteen  acres  of  mangel-wurzel  every 
year.  I  grow  them  in  rotation  with  other  crops,  and  not  as  the 
Hon.  Harris  Lewis  and  some  others  do,  continuously  on  the  same 
land.  We  manure  liberally,  but  not  extravagantly,  and  get  a  fair 
yield,  and  the  land  is  left  in  admirable  condition  for  future  crops. 

I  mean  by  this,  not  that  the  land  is  specially  rich,  but  that  it  is 
very  clean  and  mellow. 

"In  1877,"  said  the  Deacon,  "you  had  potatoes  on  the  land 
•where  you  grew  mangels  the  previous  year,  and  had  the  best  crop 
in  the  neighborhood." 

This  is  true,  but  still  I  do  not  think  it  a  good  rotation.  A  barley 
crop  seeded  with  clover  would  be  better,  especially  if  the  mangels 
were  heavily  manured.  The  clover  would  get  the  manure  which 
hid  been  washed  into  the  subsoil,  or  left  in  such  a  condition  that 
potatoes  <*  grain  could  not  take  it  up. 


TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

There  is  one  thing  in  relation  to  my  mangels  of  1876  which  has 
escaped  the  Deacon.  The  whole  piece  was  manured  and  well  pre- 
pared, and  cLibbled  in  with  mangels,  the  rows  being  2£  feet  apart, 
and  the  seed  dropped  15  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  Owing  to  poor 
seed,  the  mangels  failed  on  about  three  acres,  and  we  plowed  up 
the  land  and  drilled  in  corn  for  fodder,  in  rows  2£  feet  apart,  and 
at  the  rate  of  over  three  bushels  of  seed  per  acre.  We  had  a  great 
crop  of  corn-fodder. 

The  next  year,  as  I  said  before,  the  whole  piece  was  planted 
<vith  potatoes,  and  if  it  was  true  that  mangels  are  an  "  enricbing 
crop,"  while  corn  is  an  "exhausting"  crop,  we  ought  to  have  had 
much  better  potatoes  after  the  mangels  than  after  corn.  This  was 
certainly  not  the  case ;  if  there  was  any  difference,  it  was  in  favor 
of  the  corn.  But  I  do  not  place  any  confidence  in  an  experiment 
of  this  kind,  where  the  crops  were  not  weighed  and  the  results 
carefully  ascertained. 

Mr.  Lawes  has  made  some  most  thorough  experiments  with  dif- 
ferent manures  on  sugar-beets,  and  in  1876  he  commenced  a  series 
of  experiments  with  mangel-wurzel. 

The  land  is  a  rather  stiff  clay  loam,  similar  to  that  on  which  the 
wheat  and  barley  experiments  wer3  made.  It  is  better  suited  to 
the  growth  of  beets  than  of  turnips. 

"Why  so,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "I  thought  that  black,  bottom 
land  was  best  for  mangels.'' 

"  Not  so,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "  we  can,  it  is  true,  grow  large  crops 
of  mangels  on  well-drained  and  well-manured  swampy  or  bottom 
land,  but  the  best  soil  for  mangels,  especially  in  regard  to  quality, 
is  a  good,  stiff,  well-worked,  and  well-manured  loam." 

"And  yet,"  said  the  Deacon,  "you  had  a  better  crop  last  year 
on  the  lower  and  blacker  portions  of  the  field  than  on  the  heavy, 
clayey  land." 

In  one  sense,  this  is  true.  We  had  dry  weather  in  the  spring, 
and  the  mangel  seed  on  the  dry,  clayey  land  did  not  come  up  as 
well  as  on  the  cooler  and  moister  bottom-land.  We  had  more 
plants  to  the  acre,  but  the  roots  on  the  clayey  land,  when  they 
once  got  fair  hold  of  the  soil  and  the  manure,  grew  larger  and  bet- 
ter than  on  the  lighter  and  moister  land.  The  great  point  is  to  get 
this  heavy  land  into  a  fine,  mellow  condition. 

But  to  Mr.  Lawes'  experiments.  They  are  remarkably  interest- 
ing and  instructive.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  all  the  de- 
tails. Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  experiments  seem  to  prove,  very 
conclusively,  that  beets  require  a  liberal  supply  of  available  nitre* 


MANURES    FOR   SPECIAL   CROPS.  289 

gen.  Thus,  without  manure,  the  yield  of  beets  was  about  7£  tons 
of  bulbs  per  acre. 

With  550  Ibs.  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre,  the  yield  was  a  little  over 
2.3  tons  per  acre.  With  14  tons  of  farmyard-manure,  18  tons  per 
acre.  With  14  tons  of  farmyard  manure  and  550  Ibs.  nitrate  of 
soda,  over  27-J-  tons  per  acre. 

Superphosphate  of  lime,  sulphates  of  potash,  soda,  and  magne- 
sia, and  common  salt,  alone,  or  with  other  manures,  had  compara- 
tively little  effect. 

Practically,  when  we  want  to  grow  a  good  crop  of  beets  or  man- 
gels, these  experiments  prove  that  what  we  need  is  the  richest  kind 
of  barnyard-manure. 

If  our  manure  is  not  rich,  then  we  should  use,  in  addition  to  the 
manure,  a  dressing  of  nitrate  of  soda — say  400  or  500  Ibs.  per  acre. 

If  the  land  is  in  pretty  good  condition,  and  we  have  no  baru- 
yard-manure,  we  may  look  for  a  fair  crop  from  a  dressing  of  ni- 
trate of  soda  alone. 

"  I  see,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  550  Ibs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  alone, 
gave  an  increase  of  14J-  tons  per  aero.  And  the  following  year,  oa 
the  same  land,  it  gave  an  increase  of  13£  tons ;  and  the  next  year, 
on  the  same  land,  over  9  tons." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  the  first  three  years  of  the  experiments  (1871-2-3), 
550  Ibs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  alone,  applied  every  year,  gave  an  average 
yield  of  19J  tons  of  bulbs  per  acre.  During  the  same  three  years, 
the  plot  dressed  with  14  tons  of  barnyard-manure,  gave  an  average 
yield  of  10}-  tons.  But  now  mark.  The  next  year  (1874)  all  the 
plots  were  left  without  any  manure,  and  the  plot  which  had  been 
previously  dressed  with  nitrale  of  soda,  alone,  fell  off  to  3  tons  per 
acre,  while  the  plot  which  had  been  previously  manured  with 
barnyard-manure,  produced  lOf  tons  per  acre." 

"  Good,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  there  is  nothing  like  manure." 

MANURES    FOR    CABBAGE,    PARSNIPS,    CARROTS,    LETTUCE, 
ONIONS,  ETC. 

I  class  these  plants  together,  because,  though  differing  widely  in 
many  respects,  they  have  one  feature  in  common.  They  are  all 
artificial  productions. 

A  distinguished  amateur  horticulturist  once  said  to  me,  "  I  do 
not  see  why  it  is  I  have  so  much  trouble  with  lettuce.  My  land  is 
rich,  and  the  lettuce  grow  well,  but  do  not  head.  They  have  a 
tendency  to  run  up  to  seed,  and  soon  get  tough  and  bitter." 

I  advised  him  to  raise  his  own  seed  from  the  best  plants — and 
especially  to  reject  all  plants  that  showed  any  tendency  to  go  pro- 
13 


290  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

maturely  to  seed.  Furthermore,  I  told  him  I  thought  if  he  would 
sow  a  little  superphosphate  of  lime  with  the  seed,  it  would  greatly 
stimulate  the  early  growth  of  the  lettuce. 

As  I  have  said  before,  superphosphate,  when  drilled  in  with  the 
seed,  has  a  wonderful  effect  in  developing  the  root-growtli  of  the 
young  plants  of  turnips,  and  I  thought  it  would  have  the  same 
ellect  0:1  lettuce,  cabbage,  cauliflowers,  etc. 

"  But,"  said  he,  "  it  is  not  roots  that  I  want,  but  heads." 

"  Exactly,"  said  I,  "  you  do  not  want  the  plants  to  follow  out 
their  natural  disposition  and  run  up  to  seed.  You  want  to  induce 
taem  to  throw  out  a  great  abundance  of  tender  leaves.  In  other 
words,  you  want  them  to  4  head.'  Just  as  in  the  turnip,  you  do  not 
want  them  to  run  up  to  seed,  but  to  produce  an  unnatural  develop- 
ment of  '  bulb.' " 

Thirty  years  ago,  Dr.  Gilbert  threw  out  the  suggestion,  that 
while  it  was  evident  that  turnips  required  a  larger  proportion  of 
soluble  phosphates  in  the  soil  than  wheat ;  while  wheat  required  a 
larger  proportion  of  available  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  than  turnips,  it 
was  quite  probable,  if  we  were  growing  turnips  for  seed,  that  then, 
turnips  would  require  the  same  kind  of  manures  as  wheat. 


We  want  exceedingly  rich  land  for  cabbage,  especially  for  an 
early  crop.  Tnis  is  not  merely  because  a  large  crop  of  cabbage 
takes  a  large  amount  of  plant-food  out  of  the  soil,  but  because 
the  cultivated  cabbage  is  an  artificial  plant,  that  requires  its  food 
in  a  concentrated  shape.  In  popular  Ian  ju  age,  the  plants  have  to 
be  "  forced." 

According  to  the  analyses  of  Dr.  Anderson,  the  outside  leaves  of 
cabbage,  contain,  in  round  numbers,  91  per  cent  of  water ;  and  the 
heart  leaves,  94 J  per  cent.  In  other  words,  the  green  leaves  con- 
tain 3&  per  cent  more  dry  matter  than  the  heart  leaves. 

Dr.  Vcelcker,  who  analyzed  more  recently  some  "cattle-cab- 
bage," found  89£  per  cent  of  water  in  the  green  leaves,  and  SSf 
per  cent  in  the  heart  and  inner  leaves — thus  confirming  previous 
analyses,  and  showing  also  that  the  composition  of  cabbages  varies 
considerably. 

Dr.  Vcblcker  found  much  less  water  in  the  cabbage  than  Dr. 
Anderson. 

The  specimen  analyzed  by  Dr.  V.,  was  grown  on  the  farm  of 
the  Royal  Ag.  College  of  England,  and  I  infer  from  some  incidental 
remarks,  that  the  crop  was  grown  on  rather  poor  land.  And  it  is 
probably  true  that  a  large  crop  of  cabbage  grown  on  rich  land,  con- 
tains a  higher  percentage  of  water  than  cabbage  grown  on  poorer 


MANURES   FOR    SPECIAL    CEOPS.  291 

land.  On  the  poor  land,  the  cabbage  would  not  be  likely  to  head 
so  well  as  on  the  rich  land,  and  the  green  leaves  of  cabbage  con- 
tain more  than  half  as  much  again  rqal  dry  substance  as  the  heart 
leaves. 

The  dry  matter  of  the  heart  leaves,  however,  contains  more 
actual  nutriment  than  the  dry  matter  of  the  green  leaves. 

It  would  seem  very  desirable,  therefore,  whether  we  are  raising 
cabbage  for  market  or  for  home  consumption,  to  make  the  land 
rich  enough  to  grow  good  heads.  Dr.  Voalcker  says,  "  In  ordinary 
seasons,  the  average  produce  of  Swedes  on  our  poorer  fields  is 
about  15  tons  per  acre.  On  weighing  the  produce  of  an  acre  of 
cabbage,  grown  under  similar  circumstances,  I  found  that  it 
amounted  to  17-£  tons  per  acre.  On  good,  well-manured  fields, 
however,  we  have  had  a  much  larger  produce." 

In  a  report  on  the  "  Cultivation  of  Cabbage,  and  its  comparative 
Value  for  Feeding  purposes,"  by  J.  M.  M'Laren,  of  Scotland,  the 
yield  of  Swede  turnips,  was  29£  tons  per  acre,  and  the  yield  of  cab- 
bage, 47f  tons  per  acre. 

"  It  is  very  evident,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  if  you  grow  cabbage 
you  should  make  the  land  rich  enough  to  produce  a  good  crop — 
and  I  take  it  that  is  all  you  want  to  show." 

"  I  want  to  show,"  I  replied,  "  that  our  market  gardeners  have 
reason  for  applying  such  apparently  excessive  dressings  of  rich 
manure  to  the  cabbage-crop.  They  find  it  safer  to  put  far  more 
manure  into  the  land  than  the  crop  can  possibly  use,  rather  than 
run  any  risk  of  getting  an  inferior  crop.  An  important  practical 
question  is,  whether  they  can  not  grow  some  crop  or  crops  after 
the  cabbage,  that  can  profitably  take  up  the  manure  left  in  the  soil." 

Prof.  E.  Wolff,  in  the  last  edition  of  "  Praktische  Dungerlehre," 
gives  the  composition  of  cabbage.  For  the  details  of  which,  see 
Appendix,  page  345. 

From  this  it  appears  that  50  tons  of  cabbage  contain  240  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen,  and  1,600  Ibs.  of  ash.  Included  in  the  ash  is  630  Ibs. 
of  potash ;  90  Ibs.  of  soda ;  310  Ibs.  of  lime ;  60  Ibs.  of  magnesia ; 
140  Ibs.  of  phosphoric  acid ;  240  Ibs.  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  20  Ibs. 
of  silica. 

Henderson,  in  "  Gardening  for  Profit,"  advises  the  application 
of  75  tons  of  stable  or  barn-yard  manure  per  acre,  for  early  cab- 
bage. For  late  cabbage,  after  peas  or  early  potatoes,  he  says  about 
10  tons  per  acre  are  used. 

Brill,  in  "-Farm  Gardening  and  Seed  Growing,"  also  makes  the 
same  distinction  in  regard  to  the  quantity  of  manure  used  for  early 


292 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


and  late  cabbage.  He  speaks  of  70  to  80  tons  or  more,  per  acre,  of 
well-rotted  stable -manure  as  not  an  unusual  or  excessive  dressing 
every  year. 

Now,  according  to  Wolff's  table,  75  tons  of  fresh  stable-manure, 
with  straw,  contains  820  ll/s.  of  nitrogen  ;  795  Ibs.  of  potash  ;  15  J 
Ibs.  soda ;  315  Ibs.  of  lime ;  210  Ibs.  of  magnesia ;  420  Ibs.  of  phos- 
phoric acid  ;  105  Ibs.  sulphuric  acid  ;  2,655  Ibs.  of  silica,  and  GO  Ibs. 
of  chlorine. 

u  Put  the  figures  sUe  by  sUe,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  so  that  we  can 
compare  them." 

Here  they  are : 


75  tons 
Fre^ti  tiorse 
manure. 

50  tons 
Cabbage. 

Nitrogen                                                     .  .        

820  Ibs. 

540  Ibs. 

Potash                         .          

4/iO       * 

14,)     • 

Soda                                          

1,0      l 

-.0     ' 

313      ' 

31)      ' 

Magnesia  

210      ' 

bO      ' 

"  That  is  rather  an  interesting  table,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  In  the 
case  of  lime,  the  crop  takes  about  all  that  this  heavy  dressing  of 
manure  supplies — but  I  suppose  the  soil  is  usually  capable  of  fur- 
nishing a  considerable  quantity." 

"  That  may  be  so,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but  all  the  authorities  on 
market  gardening  speak  of  the  importance  of  either  growing  cab- 
bage on  land  containing  lime,  or  else  of  applying  lime  as  a  manure. 
Quinn,  who  writes  like  a  sensible  man,  says  in  h  s  book,  'Money 
in  the  Garden,'  '  A  top-clrossmg  of  Iim3  every  third  year,  thirty  or 
forty  bushels  per  acre,  spread  broadcast,  and  harrowed  in,  just  be- 
fore planting,  pays  handsomely.' " 

Henderson  thinks  cabbage  can  only  be  grown  successfully  on 
land  containing  abundance  of  lime.  He  has  used  heavy  dressings 
of  lime  on  land  which  did  not  contain  shell0,  and  the  result  was 
satisfactory  for  a  time,  but  he  found  it  too  expensive. 

Experience  S3ems  to  show  that  to  grow  large  crops  of  perfect 
cabbage,  the  soil  must  bo  liberally  furnished  with  manures  rich  in 
nitrogen  and  phosphoric  aci:l. 

In  saying  this,  I  do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  cabbage  require  a 
large  quantity  of  potash.  I  think,  however,  that  when  large  quan- 
tities of  stable  or  barn-yard  nianuro  is  used,  it  will  rarely  be  found 
that  the  soil  lacks  potash. 

What  we  need  to  grow  a  large  crop  of  cabbago,  is  manure  from 
well-fed  anhmls.  Such  manure  can  rarely  be  purchased.  Now, 
Uie  difference  between  rich  manure  and  ordinary  stabJe  or  barn- 


MANURES    FOK    SPECIAL    CEOFS.  293 

yard-manure,  consists  principally  in  this :  The  rich  manure  con- 
tains more  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  than  the  ordinary  stable- 
manure — and  it  is  in  a  more  available  condition. 

To  convert  common  manure  into  rich  manure,  therefore,  we  must 
add  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid.  In  other  words,  we  must  use 
Peruvian  guano,  or  nitrate  of  soda  and  superphosphate,  or  bone- 
dust,  or  some  other  substance  that  will  furnish  available  nitrogen 
and  phosphoric  acid. 

Or  it  may  well  be,  where  stable-manure  can  be  bought  for  $1.00 
per  two-horse  load,  that  it  will  be  cheaper  to  use  it  in  larger  quan- 
tity rather  than  to  try  to  make  it  rich.  In  this  case,  however,  we 
must  endeavor  to  follow  the  cabbage  by  some  crop  that  has  the 
power  of  taking  up  the  large  quantity  of  nitrogen  and  other  plant- 
food  that  will  be  left  in  the  soil. 

The  cabbage  needs  a  large  supply  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  but  re- 
moves comparatively  little  of  it.  We  see  that  when  75  tons  of 
manure  is  used,  a  crop  of  50  tons  of  cabbage  takes  out  of  the  soil 
less  than  30  per  cent  of  the  nitrogen.  And  yet,  if  you  plant  cab- 
bage on  this  land,  the  next  year,  without  manure,  you  would  get 
a  small  crop. 

"  It  cannot  be  for  want  of  nitrogen,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"  Yes  it  can,"  said  I.  "  The  cabbage,  especially  the  early  kinds, 
must  have  in  the  soil  a  much  larger  quantity  of  available  nitrogen 
than  the  plants  can  use." 

I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  a  large  crop  of  cabbage  could  be 
raised,  year  after  year,  if  furnished  only  with  a  large  supply  of  avail- 
able nitrogen.  In  such  a  case,  the  soil  would  soon  lack  the  necessary 
inorganic  ingredients.  But,  what  I  mean,  is  this :  Where  land  has 
been  heavily  manured  for  some  years,  we  could  often  raise  a  good 
crop  of  cabbage  by  a  liberal  dressing  of  available  nitrogen,  and  still 
more  frequently,  if  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  were  both  used. 

You  may  use  what  would  be  considered  an  excessive  quantity 
of  ordinary  stable-manure,  and  grow  a  large  crop  of  cabbage ;  but 
still,  if  you  plant  cabbage  the  next  year,  without  manure  of  any 
kind,  you  will  get  a  small  crop;  but  dress  it  with  a  manure  con- 
taining the  necessary  amount  of  nitrogen,  and  you  will,  so  far  as 
the  supply  of  plant-food  is  concerned,  be  likely  to  get  a  good  crop. 

In  such  circumstances,  I  think  an  application  of  800  Ibs.  of  ni- 
trate of  soda  per  acre,  costing,  say  $32,  would  be  likely  to  afford  a 
very  handsome  profit. 

For  lettuce  in  addition  to  well  prepared  rich  i"and,  I  should  sow 
3  Ibs.  of  superphosphate  to  each  square  rod,  scattered  iu  the  rows 


294  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

before  drilling  in  the  seed.  It  will  favor  the  formation  of  fibrous 
roots  and  stimulate  the  growth  of  the  young  plants. 

In  raising  onions  from  seed,  we  require  an  abundance  of  rich, 
well-rotted  manure,  clean  land,  and  early  sowing. 

Onions  r  re  often  raised  year  after  year  on  the  same  land.  That 
this  entails  a  great  waste  of  manure,  is  highly  probable,  but  it  is 
not  an  easy  matter  to  get  ordinary  farm-land  properly  prepared 
for  onions.  It  needs  to  be  clean  and  free  from  stones  and  rubbish 
of  all  kinds,  and  when  once  it  is  in  good  condition,  it  is  thought 
better  to  continue  it  in  onions,  even  though  it  may  entail  more  or 
less  loss  of  fertility. 

"  What  do  you  mean,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  by  loss  of  manure  ?  " 

"  Simply  this,"  said  I.  "  We  use  a  far  greater  amount  of  plant- 
food  in  the  shape  of  manure  than  is  removed  by  the  crop  of  onions. 
And  yet,  notwithstanding  this  fact,  it  is  found,  as  a  matter  of  ex- 
perience, that  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  if  we  would  raise  a  large 
and  profitable  crop,  to  manure  it  every  year." 

A  few  experiments  would  throw  much  light  on  this  matter.  I 
should  expect,  when  land  had  been  heavily  dressed  eveiy  year  for 
a  few  years,  with  stable-manure,  and  annually  sown  to  onions, 
that  800  Ibs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia,  or  of  nitrate  of  soda,  or  1,200 
Ibs.  of  Peruvian  guano  would  give  as  good  a  crop  as  25  or  30  tons 
of  manure.  Or  perhaps  a  better  plan  would  be  to  apply  10  or  15 
loads  of  manure,  and  600  Ibs.  of  guano,  or  400  Ibs.  sulphate  of  am- 
monia. 


CHAPTEE     XXXV. 
MANURES  FOR  GARDENS  AND   ORCHARDS. 

MANURE  FOR  MARKET-GARDENS. 

The  chief  dependence  of  the  markei -gardener  must  be  on  the 
stable-manure  which  he  can  obtain  from  the  city  or  village.  The 
chief  defect  of  this  manure  is  that  it  is  not  rich  enough  in  avail- 
able nitrogen.  The  active  nitrogen  exists  principally  in  the  urine, 
and  this  in  our  city  stables  is  largely  lost.  A  to^.  of  fresh,  unmixed 
horse-dun<£  contains  about  9  Ibs.  of  nitrogen.  A  ton  of  horse-urine, 
31  Ibs.  But  this  does  not  tell  the  whole  story.  The  nitrogen  in 
the  dung  is  contained  in  the  crude,  undigested  portions  of  the 
food.  It  is  to  a  large  extent  insoluble  and  unavailable,  while  the 
nitrogen  in  the  urine  is  soluble  and  active. 


MANURES    FOR    GARDENS    AND    ORCHARDS.  295 

The  market-gardener,  of  course,  has  to  take  such  manure  as  he 
can  get,  and  the  only  points  to  be  considered  are  (1),  whether  he 
had  better  continue  to  use  an  excessive  quantity  of  the  manure,  or 
(2),  to  buy  substances  rich  in  available  nitrogen,  and  either  mix 
them  with  the  manure,  or  apply  them  separately  to  the  soil,  or  (3), 
whether  he  can  use  this  horse-manure  as  bedding  for  pigs  to  be 
feel  on  rich  nitrogenous  food. 

The  latter  plan  I  adopt  on  my  own  farm,  and  in  this  way  I  get 
a  very  rich  and  active  manure.  I  get  available  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid,  and  potash,  at  far  cheaper  rates  than  they  can  be  purchased  in 
the  best  commercial  fertilizers. 

Pigs  void  a  large  amount  of  urine,  and  as  pigs  are  ordinarily 
kept,  much  of  this  liquid  is  lost  for  want  of  sufficient  bedding  to 
absorb  it.  With  the  market-gardener  or  nurseryman,  who  draws 
large  quantities  of  horse-manure  from  the  city,  this  need  not  be 
the  case.  The  necessary  buildings  can  be  constructed  at  little  cost, 
and  the  horse-manure  can  be  used  freely.  The  pigs  should  be  fed 
on  food  rich  in  nitrogen,  such  as  bran,  malt-combs,  brewers'  grains, 
the  refuse  animal  matter  from  the  slaughter-houses  or  butchers' 
stores,  fish  scrap,  pea  or  lentil-meal,  palm-nut  cake,  or  such  food 
as  will  furnish  the  most  nitrogenous  food,  other  things  being 
equal,  at  the  cheapest  rate. 

The  market -gardener  not  only  requires  large  quantities  of  rich 
manure,  but  he  wants  them  to  act  quickly.  The  nurseryman  who 
sets  out  a  block  of  trees  which  will  occupy  the  ground  for  three, 
four,  or  five  years,  may  want  a  "lasting  manure,"  but  such  is  not 
the  case  with  the  gardener  who  grows  crops  which  he  takes  off  the 
land  in  a  few  months.  As  long  as  he  continues  to  use  horse  or 
cow -manure  freely,  he  ne:d  not  trouble  himself  to  get  a  slow  or 
lasting  manure.  His  great  aim  should  be  to  make  the  manure  as 
active  and  available  as  possible.  And  this  is  especially  the  case  if 
he  occupies  clayey  or  loamy  land.  On  sandy  land  the  manure  will 
decompose  more  rapidly  and  act  quicker. 

"  There  are  many  facts,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  show  that  an 
artificial  application  of  water  is  equivalent  to  an  application  of 
manure.  It  has  been  shown  that  market-gardeners  find  it  neces- 
sary to  apply  a  mach  larger  amount  of  plant  food  to  the  soil  than 
the  crops  can  take  up.  This  they  have  to  do  year  after  year.  And 
it  may  well  be  that,  when  a  supply  of  water  can  be  had  at  slight 
cost,  it  will  be  cheaper  to  irrigate  the  land,  or  water  the  plants, 
rather  than  to  furnish  such  an  excess  of  manure,  as  is  now  found 
necessary.  Even  with  ordinary  farm-crops,  we  know  that  they  feel 
the  effects  of  drouth  far  less  on  rich  land  than  on  poor  land.  In 


296  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

other  words,  a  liberal  supply  of  plant  food  enables  the  crops  to 
flourish  with  less  water ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a  greater  supply 
of  water  will  enable  the  crops  to  flourish  with  a  less  supply  of 
plant-food.  The  markat-gardeuers  should  look  into  this  question 
of  irrigation. 

MANURES  FOR  SEED-GROWING  FARMS. 

In  growing  garden  and  vegetable  seeds,  much  labor  is  neces- 
sarily employed  per  acre,  and  consequently  it  is  of  great  import- 
ance to  produce  a  good  yield.  The  best  and  cleanest  land  is  neces- 
sary to  start  with,  and  then  manures  must  be  appropriately  and 
(reely  used. 

"  But  not  too  freely,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  for  I  am  told  it  is  quite 
possible  to  have  land  too  rich  for  seed-growing." 

It  is  not  often  that  the  land  is  too  rich.  Still,  it  may  well  be  thiit 
for  some  crops  too  much  stable-manure  is  used.  But  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  when  such  manure  gives  too  much  growth  and  too  little 
or  too  poor  seed,  the  trouble  is  in  the  quality  of  the  manure.  It 
contains  too  much  carbonaceous  matter.  In  other  words,  it  is  so 
poor  in  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid,  that  an  excessive  quantity 
has  to  be  used. 

The  remedy  consists  in  making  richer  manures  and  using  a  less 
Quantity,  or  use  half  the  quantity  of  stable-manure,  and  apply  the 
rectified  or  prepared  Peruvian  guano,  at  the  rate  of  300  Ibs.  or  400 
Ibs.  per  acre,  or  say  200  Ibs.  superphosphate  and  200  Ibs.  nitrate  of 
soda  per  acre. 

Where  it  is  very  important  to  have  the  seeds  ripen  early,  a  lib- 
eral dressing,  say  400  Ibs.  per  acre,  of  superphosphate  of  lime,  will 
be  likely  to  prove  beneficial. 

MANURE  FOR  PRIVATE  GARDENS. 

I  once  had  a  small  garden  in  the  city,  and  having  no  manuro,  I 
depended  entirely  on  thorough  cultivation  and  artificial  fertilizers, 
such  as  superphosphate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia.  It  was  culti- 
vated not  for  profit,  but  for  pleasure,  but  I  never  saw  a  more  pro- 
ductive piece  of  land.  I  had  in  almost  every  case  two  crops  a  year 
on  the  same  land,  and  on  some  plots  three  crops.  No  manure  was 
used,  except  the  superphosphate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and 
coal  and  wood  ashes  from  the  house. 

About  5  Ibs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  was  sown  broadcast  to  the 
square  rod,  or  worked  into  the  soil  very  thoroughly  in  the  rows 
where  the  seed  was  to  be  sown.  Superphosphate  was  applied  at 
the  same  rate,  but  instead  of  sowing  it  broadcast,  I  aimed  to  get  it 
as  near  the  seed  or  the  roots  of  plants  as  possible. 


MANURES   FOE    GARDENS    AND    ORCHARDS.  297 

Half  a  teaspoonful  of  the  mixture,  consisting  of  equal  parts  of 
superphosphate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  stirred  into  a  large  three 
gallon  can  of  water,  and  sprinkled  on  to  a  bed  of  verbenas,  seemed 
to  have  a  remarkable  effect  on  the  size  and  brilliancy  of  the  flowers. 

Even  to  this  day,  although  I  have  a  good  supply  of  rich  barn- 
yard-manure, I  do  not  like  to  be  without  some  good  artificial  ma- 
nure for  the  garden. 

MANURE  FOR  HOT-BEDS. 

The  best  manure  for  hot-beds  is  horse  or  sheep-dung  that  has 
been  used  as  bedding  for  pigs. 

When  fresh  stable-manure  is  used,  great  pains  should  be  taken  to 
save  all  the  urine.  In  other  words,  you  want  the  horse-dung 
thoroughly  saturated  with  urine. 

The  heat  is  produced  principally  from  the  carbon  in  the  manure 
aid  straw,  but  you  need  active  nitrogenous  matter  to  start  the  fire. 
And  the  richer  the  manure  is  in  nitrogenous  matter,  and  the  more 
thoroughly  this  is  distributed  through  the  manure,  the  more  readily 
will  it  ferment.  There  is  also  another  advantage  in  having  rich 
manure,  or  manure  well  saturated  with  urine.  You  can  make  the 
heap  more  compact.  Poor  manure  has  to  be  made  in  a  loose  Leap, 
or  it  will  not  ferment ;  but  such  manure  as  we  are  talking  about 
can  be  trodden  down  quite  firm,  and  still  ferment  rapid  enough  to 
give  out  the  necessary  heat,  and  this  compact  heap  will  continue 
to  ferment  longer  and  give  out  a  steadier  heat,  than  the  loose  heap 
of  poor  manure. 

MANURE    FOR    NURSERYMEN. 

Our  successful  nurserymen  purchase  large  quantities  of  stable 
and  other  manures  from  the  cities,  drawing  it  as  fast  as  it  is  made, 
and  putting  it  in  piles  until  wanted.  They  usually  turn  the  piles 
once  or  twice,  and  often  three  times.  This  favors  fermentation, 
greatly  reducing  it  in  bulk,  and  rendering  the  manure  much  more 
soluble  and  active.  It  also  makes  the  manure  in  the  heap  more 
uniform  in  quality. 

Messrs.  Ellwanger  &  Barry  tell  me  that  they  often  ferment  the 
manure  that  they  draw  from  the  stables  in  the  city,  and  make  it  so 
fine  and  rich,  that  they  get  but  one  load  of  rotted  manure  from 
three  loads  as  drawn  from  the  stables.  For  some  crops,  they  use 
at  least  20  loads  of  this  rotted  manure  per  acre,  and  they  esti- 
mate that  each  load  of  this  rotted  manure  costs  at  least  $5.00. 

H.  E.  Hooker  places  the  cost  of  manure  equally  high,  but  seems 
willing  to  use  all  he  can  get,  and  does  not  think  we  can  profitably 
employ  artificial  manures  as  a  substitute. 


293  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

In  this  I  agree  with  him.  But  while  I  should  not  expect  arti- 
ficial manures,  when  used  alone,  to  prove  as  cheap  or  as  valuable 
as  stable-manure  at  present  prices,  I  think  it  may  well  be  that 
a  little  nitrate  of  soda,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  superphosphate 
of  lime,  or  dissolved  Peruvian  guano,  might  be  used  as  an  auxil- 
iary manure  to  great  advantage. 

Mr.  H.  E.  Hooker,  once  sowed,  at  my  suggestion,  some  sulphate 
of  ammonia  and  superphosphate  on  part  of  a  block  of  nursery 
trees,  and  he  could  not  perceive  that  these  manures  did  any  good. 
Ellwanger  &  Barry  also  tried  them,  and  reported  the  same  nega- 
tive result.  This  was  several  years  ago,  and  I  do  not  think  any 
similar  experiments  have  been  made  since. 

u  And  yet,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  you  used  these  self  same  manures 
on  farm-crops,  and  they  greatly  increased  the  growth." 

"  There  are  several  reasons,"  said  the  Doctor,  u  why  these  ma- 
nures may  have  failed  to  produce  any  marked  effect  on  the  nursery 
trees.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  considerable  prejudice  against 
them,  and  the  nurserymen  would  hardly  feel  like  relying  on  these 
manures  alone.  They  probably  sowed  them  on  land  already  well 
manured  ;  and  I  think  they  sowed  them  too  late  in  the  season.  I 
should  like  to  see  them  fairty  tried." 

So  would  I.  It  seems  to  me  that  nitrate  of  soda,  and  superphos- 
phate, or  dissolved  Peruvian  guano,  could  be  used  with  very  great 
advantage  and  profit  by  the  nurserymen.  Of  course,  it  would 
hardly  be  safe  to  depend  upon  them  alone.  They  should  be  used 
either  in  connection  with  stable-manure,  or  on  land  that  had  pre- 
viously been  frequently  dressed  with  stable-manure. 

MANURE    FOR   FRUIT-GROWERS. 

How  to  keep  up  the  fertility  of  our  apple-orchards,  is  becoming 
an  important  question,  and  is  attracting  considerable  attention. 

There  are  two  methods  generally  recommended — I  dare  not  say 
generally  practised.  The  one,  is  to  keep  the  orchard  in  bare-fal- 
low ;  the  other,  to  keep  it  in  grass,  and  top-dress  with  manure,  and 
either  eat  the  grass  off  on  the  land  with  sheep  and  pigs,  or  else 
mow  it  frequently,  and  let  the  grass  rot  on  the  surface,  for  mulch 
and  manure. 

"  You  are  speaking  now,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  of  bearing  apple- 
orchards.  No  one  recommends  keeping  a  young  orchard  in  grass. 
We  all  know  that  young  apple  trees  do  far  better  when  the  land  is 
occupied  with  corn,  potatoes,  beans,  or  some  other  crop,  which  can 
be  cultivated,  than  they  do  on  land  occupied  with  wheat,  barley, 
oats,  rye,  buckwheat,  or  grass  and  clover.  And  even  with  bearing 


MANURES    FOU    GARDENS    AND    ORCHARDS.  299 

peach  trees,  I  have  seen  a  wonderful  difference  in  an  orchard,  half 
of  -which  was  cultivated  with  corn,  and  the  other  half  sown  with 
wheat.  The  trees  in  the  wheat  were  sickly-looking,  and  bore  a 
small  crop  of  inferior  fruit,  while  the  trees  in  the  corn,  grew  vigor- 
ously and  bore  a  fine  crop  of  fruit.  And  the  increased  value  of 
the  crop  of  peaches  on  the  cultivated  land  was  far  more  than  we 
can  ever  hope  to  get  from  a  crop  of  wheat." 

"And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  crop  of  corn  on  the  cultivated 
half  of  the  peach-orchard  removed  far  more  plant-food  from  the 
soil,  than  the  crop  of  wheat.  And  so  it  is  evident  that  the  differ- 
ence is  not  due  wholly  to  the  supply  of  manure  in  the  surface-soil. 
It  may  well  be  that  the  cultivation  which  the  corn  received  favored 
the  decomposition  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  and  the  formation 
of  nitrates,  and  when  the  rain  came,  it  would  penetrate  deeper  into 
the  loose  soil  than  on  the  adjoining  land  occupied  with  wheat. 
The  rain  would  carry  the  nitrogen  down  to  the  roots  of  the  peach 
trees,  and  this  will  account  for  the  dark  green  color  of  the  leaves 
on  the  cultivated  land,  and  the  yellow,  sickly-looking  leaves  on 
the  trees  among  the  wheat. 

HEN-MANURE,  AND    WHAT    TO    DO    WITH   IT. 

A  bushel  of  corn  fed  to  a  hen  would  give  no  more  nitrogen, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  in  the  shape  of  manure,  than  a  bushel 
of  corn  fed  to  a  pig.  The  manure  from  the  pig,  however,  taking 
the  urine  and  solid  excrement  together,  contain  82  per  cent  of 
water,  while  that  from  the  hen  contains  only  56  per  cent  of  water. 
Moreover,  hens  pick  up  worms  and  insects,  and  their  food  in  such 
case  would  contain  more  nitrogen  than  the  usual  food  of  pigs,  and 
the  manure  would  be  correspondingly  richer  in  nitrogen.  Hence 
it  happens  that  100  Ibs.  of  dry  hen-manure  would  usually  be  richer 
in  nitrogen  than  100  Ibs.  of  dry  pig-manure.  But  feed  pigs  on 
peas,  and  hens  on  corn,  and  the  dry  pig-manure  would  be  much 
richer  in  nitrogen  than  the  dry  hen-manure.  The  value  of  the 
manure,  other  things  being  equal,  depends  on  the  food  and  not  on 
the  animal. 

Let  no  man  think  he  is  going  to  make  his  farm  any  richer  by 
keeping  hens,  ducks,  and  geese,  than  he  will  by  keeping  sheep, 
pigs,  and  horses. 

"Why  is  it,  then,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "that  hen-dung  proves 
euch  a  valuable  manure.  I  would  rather  have  a  hundred  Ibs.  of 
hen-dung  than  half  a  ton  of  barnyard-manure  ?  " 

"  And  I  presume  you  are  right,"  said  I,  "  but  you  must  recollect 
that  your  hen-manure  is  kept  until  it  is  almost  chemically  dry.  Let 


800  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

us  figure  up  what  the  half  ton  of  manure  and  the  100  Ibs.  of  hen- 
inanure  would  contain.     Here  are  the  figures,  side  by  side : 


100  I6a.  dry     Half  tot, 


Hen-  Ma- 
nure. 

Cow  Dung 
with,  straw. 

Water  (estimated)    

\-i  Ibs. 

775   Ibs 

Organic  Matter 

51     " 

203     " 

Ash  

87    " 

Nitrogen  

3i  " 

8*A" 

Potash 

if  " 

4" 

Lime  

A« 

3      " 

Phosphoric  acid  

f> 

11   » 

I  would,  myself,  far  rather  have  100  Ibs.  of  your  dry  hen-manure 
than  half  a  ton  of  your  farmyard-manure.  Your  hens  are  fed  on 
richer  food  than  your  cows.  The  100  Ibs.  of  hen-manure,  too, 
would  act  much  more  rapidly  than  the  half  ton  of  cow-manure. 
It  would  probably  do  twice  as  much  good — possibly  three  or  four 
times  as  much  good,  on  the  first  crop,  as  the  cow-manure.  The  ni- 
trogen, being  obtained  from  richer  and  more  digestible  food,  is  in 
a  much  more  active  and  available  condition  than  the  nitrogen  in 
the  cow-dung. 

"  If  you  go  on,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  tliink  you  will  prove  that  I 
am  right." 

"  I  have  never  doubted,"  said  I,  "  the  great  value  of  hen-dung,  as 
compared  with  barnyard-manure.  And  all  I  wish  to  show  is,  that, 
notwithstanding  its  acknowledged  value,  the  fact  remains  that  a 
given  quantity  of  the  same  kind  of  food  will  give  no  greater 
amount  of  fertilizing  matter  when  fed  to  a  hen  than  if  fed  to  a  pig." 

I  want  those  farmers  who  find  so  much  benefit  from  an  applica- 
tion of  hen-manure,  ashes,  and  plaster,  to  their  corn  and  potatoes, 
to  feel  that  if  they  would  keop  better  cows,  sheep,  and  pigs,  and 
feed  them  better,  they  would  get  good  pay  for  their  feed,  and  the 
manure  would  enable  them  to  grow  larger  crops. 

While  we  have  been  talking,  the  Deacon  was  looking  over  the 
tables.  (See  Appendix.)  "  I  see,"  said  he,  "  that  wheat  and  rye 
contain  more  nitrogen  than  hen-manure,  but  less  potash  and  phos- 
phoiic  acid." 

"  This  is  true,"  said  I,  "  but  the  way  to  compare  them,  in  order 
to  see  the  effect  of  passing  the  wheat  through  the  hen,  is  to  look  at 
the  composition  of  the  air-dried  hen-dung.  The  fresh  hen-dung, 
according  to  the  table,  contains  56  per  cent  of  water,  while  wheat 
contains  less  than  14|  per  cent." 

L^t  us  compare  the  composition  of  1,000  Ibs.  air-dried  hen-dung 
with  1,000  Ibs.  of  air-dried  wheat  and  rye,  and  also  with  bran, 
malt-combs,  etc. 


MANURES    FOR    GARDENS    AND    OUCIIARDS.  301 


Wheat  

Nitrogen. 
20.8 

Potash. 
5.o 

Phosphoric 

Acid. 
7.9 

Wheat  Bran  

22.4 

14.3 

27.3 

Rye 

17  6 

5  6 

84 

Rye  Brau  

23.2 

19.3 

34.3 

Buckwheat  

..     ..         14.4 

2.7 

5.7 

Buckwheat  Bran  

27.2 

11.2 

12.5 

Malt-roots  

36.8 

20.6 

18.0 

Air-dry  Hen-dune:.  .  . 

32.6 

17.0 

30.8 

*'  That  table,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  well  worth  studying.  You 
see,  that  when  wheat  is  put  through  the  process  of  milling,  the 
miller  takes  out  as  much  of  the  starch  and  gluten  as  he  wants,  and 
leaves  you  a  product  (bran),  richer  in  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  aud 
nitrogen,  than  you  gave  him." 

"  And  the  same  is  true,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  of  the  hen.  You 
gave  her  2,000  grains  of  wheat,  containing  41.6  grains  of  nitrogen. 
She  puts  this  through  the  mill,  together  with  some  ashes,  and 
bones,  that  she  picks  up,  and  she  takes  out  all  the  starch  and  fat, 
and  nitiogen,  and  phosphate  of  lime,  that  she  needs  to  sus- 
tain life,  and  to  produce  flesh,  bones,  feathers,  and  eggs,  and 
leaves  you  1,000  grains  of  manure  containing  32.6  grains  of  nitro- 
gen, 17.0  grains  of  potash,  and  30.8  grains  of  phosphoric  acid.  I 
do  not  say,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  that  it  takes  exactly  2,000 
grains  of  wheat  to  make  1,000  grains  of  dry  manure.  I  merely 
give  these  figures  to  enable  the  Deacon  to  understand  why  1,000 
Ibs.  of  hen-dung  is  worth  more  for  manure  than  1,000  Ibs.  of 
wheat." 

"  I  must  admit,"  said  the  Deacon, "  that  I  always  have  been  trou- 
bled to  understand  why  wheat-bran  was  worth  more  for  manure 
than  the  wheat  itself.  I  see  now — it  is  because  there  is  less  of  it. 
It  is  for  the  same  reason  that  boiled  cider  is  richer  than  the  cider 
from  which  it  is  made.  The  cider  has  lost  water,  and  the  bran  has 
lost  starch.  What  is  left  is  richer  in  nitrogen,  and  potash,  and 
phosphoric  acid.  And  so  it  is  with  manure.  The  animals  take 
out  of  the  food  the  starch  and  fat,  and  leave  the  manure  richer  in 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash." 

"  Exactly,"  said  I,  "  Mr.  Lawes  found  by  actual  experiment,  that 
if  you  feed  500  Ibs.  of  barley-meal  to  a  pig,  containing  420  Ibs.  of 
dry  substance,  you  get  only  70  Ibs.  of  dry  substance  in  the  manure. 
Of  the  420  Ibs.  of  dry  substance,  276.2  Ibs.  are  used  to  support  res- 
piration, etc. ;  73.8  Ibs.  are  found  in  the  increase  of  the  pig,  and  70 
Ibs  in  the  manure." 

The  food  contains  5.3  Ibs.  of  nitrogenous  matter ;  the  increase  of 
«pig  contains  7  Ibs.,  and  consequently,  if  there  is  no  loss,  the  ma- 


302  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

nure  shou!:l  contain  45  Ibs  of  nitrogenous  substance = to  7.14  Ibs. 
of  nitrogen. 

"  In  other  words,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  70  Ibs.  of  dry  liquid  and 
solid  pig-manure  contains  7.14  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  or  100  Ibs.  would 
contain  10.2  Ibs.  of  nitrogen,  which  is  more  nitrogen  than  we  now 
get  in  the  very  best  samples  of  Peruvian  guano." 

"  And  thus  it  will  be  seen,"  said  1,  "  that  though  corn-fed  pigs, 
leaving  out  the  bedding  and  water,  produce  a  very  small  quantity 
of  manure,  it  is  exceedingly  rich." 

The  table  from  which  these  facts  were  obtained,  will  be  found  in 
the  Appendix— pages  342-3. 


CHAPTER     XXXVI. 
DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  MANURE. 

COW-MANURE,  AND  HOW  TO  USE  IT. 

"  It  will  do  more  good  if  fermented,"  said  a  German  farmer  in 
the  neighborhood,  who  is  noted  for  raising  good  crops  of  cabbage, 
''but  I  like  hog-manure  better  than  cow-dung.  The  right  way  is 
to  mix  the  hog-manure,  cow-dung,  and  horse-manure  together." 

"No  doubt  about  that,"  said  I,  "but  when  you  have  a  good 
many  cows,  and  few  other  animals,  how  would  you  manage  the 
manure  ? " 

"  I  would  gather  leaves  and  swamp-muck,  and  use  them  for  bed- 
ding the  cows  and  pigs.  Leaves  make  splendid  bedding,  and  they 
make  rich  manure,  and  the  cow-dung  and  leaves,  when  made  into 
a  pile,  will  ferment  readily,  and  make  grand  manure  for — any- 
thing. I  only  wish  I  had  all  I  could  use." 

There  is  no  question  but  what  cow-manure  is  better  if  fermented, 
but  it  is  not  always  convenient  to  pile  it  during  the  winter  in  such 
a  way  that  it  will  not  freeze.  And  in  this  case  it  may  be  the  better 
plan  to  draw  it  out  on  to  the  land,  as  opportunity  offers. 

"  I  have  heard,"  said  Charley,  "  that  pig-manure  was  not  good 
for  cabbage,  it  produces  '  fingers  and  toes,'  or  club-foot." 

Possibly  such  is  the  case  when  there  is  a  predisposition  to  the 
disease,  but  our  German  friend  says  he  has  never  found  any  ill- 
effects  from  its  use. 


DIFFERENT    KINDS    OF    MANURE.  303 

"Cows,"  said  the  Doctor,  "when  giving  a  lurjc  quantity  of 
milk,  make  rather  poor  manure.  The  manure  loses  what  the  milk 
takes  from  the  food." 

"  We  have  shown  what  that  loss  is,"  said  I.  "  It  amounts  to  less 
than  I  think  is  generally  suppose!.  And  in  the  winter,  when  the 
cows  are  dry,  the  manure  would  be  as  rich  as  from  oxen,  provided 
both  were  fel  alike.  Sae  Appendix,  page  342.  It  will  there  be 
seen  that  oxen  take  out  only  4.1  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  from  100  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen  consumed  in  the  food.  In  other  words,  provided  there 
is  no  loss,  we  should  get  in  the  liquid  and  solid  excrements  of  the 
ox  and  dry  cow  95.9  per  cent,  of  the  nitrogen  furnished  in  the 
food,  and  a  still  higher  per  cent  of  the  mineral  matter. 

SHEEP-MANURE. 

According  to  Prof.  Wolff's  table  of  analyses,  sheep-manure,  both 
solid  and  liquid,  contain  less  water  than  the  manure  from  horses, 
cows,  or  swine.  With  the  exception  of  swine,  the  solid  dung  is 
also  the  richest  in  nitrogen,  while  the  urine  of  sheep  is  pre- 
eminently rich  in  nitrogen  and  potash. 

These  facts  are  in  accordance  with  the  general  opinions  of  farm- 
ers. Sheep-manure  is  considered,  next  to  hen-manure,  the  most 
valuable  manure  made  on  the  farm. 

I  do  not  think  we  have  any  satisfactory  evidence  to  prove  that 
3  tons  of  clover-hay  and  a  ton  of  corn  fed  to  a  lot  of  fattening- 
shcep  will  afford  a  quantity  of  manure  containing  anymore  plant- 
food  than  the  same  kind  and  amount  of  food  fed  to  a  lot  of  fat- 
tening-cattle.  The  experiments  of  Lawes  &  Gilbert  indicate  that 
if  there  is  any  difference  it  is  in  favor  of  the  ox.  See  Appendix, 
page  343.  But  it  may  w  11  be  that  it  is  much  easier  to  save  the 
manure  from  the  sheep  than  from  the  cattle.  And  so,  practically, 
Blieep  may  be  better  manure-makers  than  cattle — for  the  simple 
reason  that  less  of  the  urine  is  lost. 

"As  a  rule,"  said  the  Doctor,  "the  dung  of  sheep  contains  far 
less  water  than  the  dung  of  cattle,  though  when  you  slop  your 
breeding  ewes  to  make  them  give  more  milk,  the  dung  differs  but 
little  in  appearance  from  that  of  cows.  Ordinarily,  however,  sheep- 
dung  is  light  and  dry,  and,  like  horse-dung,  will  ferment  much 
more  rapidly  than  cow  or  pig-dung.  In  piling  manure  in  the  win- 
ter or  spring,  special  pains  should  be  used  to  mix  the  sheep  and 
horse-manure  with  the  cow  and  pig-manure.  And  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  for  any  crop  or  for  any  purpose  where  stable-manure 
is  deemed  desirable,  sheep-manure  would  be  a  better  substitute 
than  cow  or  pig-manure." 


304  TALKS  ON  MAN  CUES. 


MANURE  FROM  SWINE. 

The  dry  matter  of  hog-manure,  especially  the  urine,  is  rich  in 
nitrogen,  but  it  is  mixe.l  with  such  a  large  quantity  of  water  that 
a  ton  of  hog-manure,  as  it  is  usually  found  in  the  pen,  is  less  valu- 
able than  a  ton  of  horse  or  sheep-manure,  aud  only  a  little  more 
valuable  than  a  ton  of  cow-manure. 

As  I  have  before  said,  my  own  plan  is  to  let  the  store-hogs  sleep 
ia  a  basement-cellar,  and  bed  them  with  horse  and  sheep-manure. 
I  have  this  winter  over  50  sows  under  the  horse-stable,  and  the 
manure  from  8  horses  keeps  them  dry  and  comfortable,  and  we 
are  not  specially  lavish  wit  j  straw  in  bedding  the  horses. 

During  the  summer  we  aim  to  keep  the  hogs  out  in  the  pastures 
and  orchards  as  much  as  possible.  This  is  not  only  good  for  the 
health  of  the  pigs,  but  saves  labor  and  straw  in  the  management 
of  the  manure.  It  goes  directly  to  the  land.  The  pigs  are  good 
grazers  and  distribute  the  manure  as  evenly  over  the  land  as  sheep 
—  in  fact,  during  hot  weather,  slieep  are  even  more  inclined  to  hud- 
dle together  under  the  trees,  and  by  the  side  of  the  fence,  than 
pigs.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  the  larger  breeds  of  sheep. 

In  the  winter  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to  save  all  the  liquid 
and  solid  excrements  from  pigs,  provided  the  pens  are  dry  and  no 
water  comes  in  from  the  rain  and  snow.  As  pigs  arc  often  man- 
aged, this  is  the  real  difficulty.  Pigs  void  an  enormous  quantity 
of  water,  especially  when  fed  on  slops  from  the  house,  whey,  etc.  If 
they  are  kept  in  a  pen  with  a  separate  feeding  and  sleeping  apart- 
ment, both -should  be  under  cover,  and  the  feeding  apartment  may 
be  kept  covered  a  foot  or  so  thick  with  the  soiled  bedding  from 
the  sleeping  apartment.  When  the  pigs  get  up  in  a  morning,  they 
will  go  into  the  feeding  apartment,  and  the  liquid  will  be  dis- 
charged on  the  mass  of  manure,  straw,  etc. 

"Dried  muck,"  said  the  Deacon,  "comes  in  very  handy  about  a 
pig-pen,  for  absorbing  the  liquid." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  and  even  dry  earth  can  be  used  to  great  advan- 
tage, not  merely  to  absorb  the  liquid,  but  to  keep  the  pens  sweet 
and  healthy.  The  three  chief  points  in  saving  manure  from  pigs 
aro:  1,  To  have  the  pens  under  cover;  2,  to  keep  the  feeding 
apartment  or  yard  covered  with  a  thick  mass  of  strawy  manure 
and  refuse  of  any  kind,  and  3,  to  scatter  plenty  of  dry  earth  or 
dry  muck  on  th3  floor  of  the  sleeping  apartment,  and  on  top  of 
the  manure  in  the  feeding  apartment." 

"  You  f  cd  most  of  your  pigs,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  out  of  doors 
in  the  yard,  and  they  sleep  in  the  pens  or  basement  cellars,  and  it 


DIFFERENT   KINDS   OF   ItfAKURS.  305 

seems  to  me  to  be  a  good  plan,  as  they  get  more  fresh  air  and  ex- 
ercise than  if  confined." 

"  We  do  not  lose  much  manure,"  said  I,  "  by  feeding  in  the  yards. 
You  let  a  dozen  pigs  sleep  in  a  pen  all  iiigut,  and  as  soon  as  they 
hear  you  putting  the  food  in  the  troughs  outside,  they  come  to  the 
door  of  tho  pen,  and  there  discharge  the  liquid  and  solid  excre- 
ments on  the  mass  of  manure  left  tiiero  on  purpose  to  receive  and 
absorb  them.  I  am  well  aware  that  as  pigs  are  often  managed,  we 
lose  at  least  half  the  value  of  their  manure,  but  there  is  no  neces- 
sity for  tliis.  A  little  care  and  thought  will  save  nearly  the  whole 
of  it. 

BUYING    MANURE    BY    MEASURE    OR    WEIGHT. 

The  Deacon  and  I  have  just  been  weighing  a  bushel  of  different 
kinds  of  manure  made  on  the  farm.  We  made  two  weighings  of 
each  kind,  one  thrown  in  loose,  and  the  other  pressed  down  firm. 
The  following  is  the  result : 

WEIGHT  OP  MANURE  PEP.  BUSHEL,   AND  PEU  LOAD  OF  50  BUSHELS. 


No. 

KIND  AND  CONDITION  OP  MANURES. 

tl-s 

* 

1 

1 

Fresh  horse-manure  free  from  straw  

Ibs. 

Ihs. 
18*5 

2 

>'           kt            "         *•        "        "    pressed..                  

55 

2750 

3 

Fresh  horee-nriiiiirc  as  used  for  beddinfr  pi<rs 

28 

1400 

4 

"          "           "             "                  '•           "      pressed  

46 

5 

Hor'c-manure  from  pi"  cellar.  ... 

50 

2500 

f, 

"          "           u       "        "    pressed  

72 

3600 

7 

57 

2850 

8 

"       "      pressed  

75 

3753 

9 

Pi"-manure  and  dry  eartli 

98 

COO 

10 

42 

2100 

"          "           '*        "        "    ])ressed     

65 

3253 

12 

28 

1400 

13 

"          "           '•        "          "    pressed  

38 

14 

Fre«h  cow-dun^  free  from  straw                         .   .   . 

87 

4350 

15 

lien-manure                 

34 

1700 

16. 

•'         "      pressed   

4S 

2400 

"  In  buying  manure,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  it  makes  quite  a  differ- 
ence whether  the  load  is  trod  down  solid  or  thrown  loosely  into  the 
box.  A  load  of  fresh  horse-manure,  when  trod  clown,  weighs  half 
as  much  again  as  when  thrown  in  loose." 

"  A  load  of  horse-manure,"  said  Charley,  "  after  it  has  been  used 
for  bedding  pigs,  weighs  3,600  Ibs.,  and  only  2,300  Ibs.  when  it  is 
thrown  into  the  pens,  and  I  suppose  a  ton  of  the  '  double-worked ' 
manure  is  fully  as  valuable  as  a  ton  of  the  fresh  horse-manure.  If 
so,  15  ' loads'  of  the  pig-pen  manure  is  equal  to  24  ' loads'  of  the 
stable-manure." 


306 


TALKS 


MANURES. 


"A  ton  of  fresh  horse-manure,"  said  the  Doctor,  "contains 
about  9  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  ;  a  ton  of  fresh  cow-dung  about  6  Ibs.;  a 
ton  of  fresh  sheep-dung,  11  Ibs.,  and  a  ton  of  fresh  pig-manure,  12 
Ibs.  But  if  the  Deacon  and  you  weighed  correctly,  a  '  load '  or 
cord  of  cow-manure  would  contain  more  nitrogen  than  a  load  of 
pressed  horse-manure.  The  figures  are  as  follows : 

A  load  of  50  bushels  of  fresh  horse-dung,  pressed 

and  free  from  straw  contains 12.37  Ibs.  nitrogen. 

A  load  of  fresh  cow-dung 13.05'  "          " 

"  "         sheep  '•    10.45    "          " 

"         pig       "    22.50    " 

"  These  figures,"  said  I,  '*  show  how  necessary  it  is  to  look  at 
this  subject  in  all  its  aspects.  If  I  was  buying  manures  by  weight, 
I  would  much  prefer  a  ton  of  sheep-manure,  if  it  had  been  made 
under  cover,  to  any  other  manure  except  hen-dung,  especially 
if  it  contained  all  the  urine  from  the  sheep.  But  if  buying  manure 
by  the  load  or  cord,  that  from  a  covered  pig-pen  would  be  prefer- 
able to  any  other." 

LIQUID    MANURE    ON    THE    FARM. 

I  have  never  had  any  personal  experience  in  the  use  of  liquid 
manure  to  any  crop  except  grass.  At  Rothamsted,  Mr.  Lawes  used 
to  draw  out  the  liquid  manure  in  a  water-cart,  and  distribute  it 
on  grass  land. 

"  What  we  want  to  know,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  is  whether  the 
liquid  from  our  barn-yards  will  pay  to  draw  out.  If  it  will,  the 
proper  method  of  using  it  can  be  left  to  our  ingenuity. " 

According  to  Prof.  Wolff,  a  ton  of  urine  from  horses,  cows, 
sheep,  and  swine,  contains  the  following  amounts  of  nitrogen, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  and,  for  the  sake  of  comparison,  I 
give  the  composition  of  drainage  from  the  barn-yard,  and  also  of 
fresh  dung  of  the  different  animals : 

TABLE    SHOWING    THE  AMOUNT    OP  NITROGEN,   PHOSPHORIC  ACID,   AND    POTASH, 

IN  ONE  TON  OP  THE  FRESH  DUNG  AND  FUESH  URINE  OP  DIFFERENT 

ANIMALS,  AND  ALSO  OF  THE  DRAINAGE  OF  THE  BARN-YARD. 


1  TON  FRESH  DUNG. 

1   TON  FRESH  URINE. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Horse  

Ibs. 
8.8 
5.8 
11.0 
12  0 
9.4 

Ibs. 
7.0 
34 
6.2 
8.2 
6.2 

Ibs. 
7.0 
2.0 
3.0 
5.2 
4.3 

Ibs. 
31.0 
11.6 
39.0 
8.6 
22.5 
3  0 

Ibs. 

0.2 
1.4 
0.4 

0.2 

]!»». 
30.0 
9.8 
45.2 
1R.6 
25.4 
9.8 

Cow 

Sheep  

Swine                             

Meau    

Drainape  of  bnrn-yanl  

DIFFERENT   KINDS    OF    MANURE.  307 

The  drainage  from  a  barn-yard,  it  will  be  seen,  contains  a  little 
more  than  half  as  much  nitrogen  as  cow-dung ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  tae  nitrogen  in  the  liquid  is  in  a  much  more  available  condi- 
tion than  that  in  the  dung.  It  contains,  also,  nearly  five  times  as 
much  potash  as  the  dung.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  with 
proper  arrangements  for  pumping  and  distributing,  this  liquid 
could  be  drawn  a  short  distance  with  profit. 

But  whether  it  will  or  will  not  pay  to  cart  away  the  drainage,  it 
is  obviously  to  our  interest  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  any  of 
the  liquid  from  running  to  waste. 

It  is  of  still  greater  importance  to  guard  against  any  loss  of 
urine.  It  will  be  seen  that,  on  the  average,  a  ton  of  the  urine  of 
our  domestic  animals  contains  more  than  twice  as  much  nitrogen 
as  a  ton  of  the  dung. 

"Where  straw,  leaves,  swamp-muck,  or  other  absorbent  materials 
are  not  sufficiently  abundant  to  prevent  any  loss  of  urine,  means 
should  be  used  to  drain  it  into  a  tank  so  located  that  the  liquid 
can  either  be  pumped  back  on  to  the  manure  when  needed,  or 
drawn  away  to  the  land. 

"  I  do  not  see,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  why  horse  and  sheep-urine 
should  contain  so  much  more  nitrogen  and  potash  than  that  from 
the  cow  and  pig." 

"  The  figures  given  by  Prof.  Wolff,"  said  I,  "  are  general  aver- 
ages. The  composition  of  the  urine  varies  greatly.  The  richer  the 
food  in  digestible  nitrogenous  matter,  the  more  nitrogen  will  there 
bo  in  the  dry  matter  of  the  urine.  And,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  less  water  the  animal  drinks,  the  richer  will  the  urine  be  in 
nitrogen.  The  urina  from  a  sheep  fed  solely  on  turnips  would 
contain  little  or  no  more  nitrogen  than  the  urine  of  a  cow  fed  on 
turnips.  An  ox  or  a  dry  cow  fed  on  grass  would  probably  void 
no  more  nor  no  poorer  urine  than  a  horse  fed  on  grass.  The  urine 
that  Mr.  Lawes  drew  out  in  a  cart  on  to  his  grass-land  was  made 
by  sheep  that  had  one  Ib.  each  of  oil-cake  per  day,  and  one  ft.  of 
chaffed  clover-hay,  and  all  the  turnips  they  would  eat.  They  voided 
a  large  quantity  of  urine,  but  as  the  food  was  rich  in  nitrogen,  the 
urine  was  doubtless  nearly  or  quite  as  rich  as  that  analyzed  by 
Prof.  Wolff,  though  that  probably  contained  less  water. 

If  I  was  going  to  draw  out  liquid  manure,  I  should  be  very  care- 
ful to  spout  all  the  buildings,  and  keep  the  animals  and  manure  as 
much  undercover  as  possible,  and  also  feed  food  rich  in  nitrogen. 
In  such  circumstances,  it  would  doubtless  pay  to  draw  the  urino 
full  as  well  as  to  draw  the  solid  manure. 


308 


TALKS    OX    MANURES. 


NIGHTSOIL  AND  SEWAGE. 

The  composition  of  human  excrements,  as  compared  with  the 
mean  composition  of  the  excrements  from  horses,  cows,  sheep,  and 
swine,  so  far  as  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash  are  con- 
cerned, is  as  follows : 

TABLE    SHOWING    THE  AMOUNT    OF    NITROGEN,  PHOSPHORIC  ACID,  AND  POTASH, 

IN  ONE  TON  OF  FRESH  HUMAN  EXCREMENTS,   AND  IN  ONE  TON  OF  FRESH 

EXCREMENTS    FROM    HORSES,   COWS,   SHEEP,   AND    SWINE. 


SOLIDS. 

URINE. 

Ouc  ton  (2000  Ibs). 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Human  ...   

20  0  Ibs. 

21.8  Ibs. 

5.0  Ibs. 

12.0  Ibs. 

3.7  Ibs. 

4.0  Ibs. 

Mean  of  horse,  cow,  sheep, 
and  swine  

9.4  «« 

6.2   " 

4.3   " 

22.5  " 

0.4  " 

25.4  " 

One  ton  of  fresh  faeces  contains  more  than  twice  as  much  nitro- 
gen, and  more  than  three  times  as  much  phosphoric  acid,  as  a  ton 
of  fresh  mixed  animal-dung.  The  nitrogen,  too,  is  probably  in  a 
more  available  condition  than  that  in  common  barnyard-dung ; 
and  we  should  not  be  far  wrong  in  estimating  1  ton  of  faeces  equal 
to  2$  tons  of  ordinary  dung,  or  about  equal  in  value  to  carefully 
preserved  manure  from  liberally-fed  sheep,  swine,  and  fattening 
cattle. 

"  It  is  an  unpleasant  job,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but  it  pays  well  to 
empty  the  vaults  at  least  twice  a  year." 

"  If  farmers,"  said  the  Doctor, "  would  only  throw  into  the  vaults 
from  time  to  time  some  dry  earth  or  coal  ashes,  the  contents  of 
the  vaults  could  be  removed  without  any  disagreeable  smell." 

"  That  is  so,"  said  I,  "  and  even  where  a  vault  has  been  shame- 
fully neglected,  and  is  full  of  offensive  matter,  it  can  be  cleaned 
out  without  difficulty  and  without  smell.  I  have  cleaned  out  a 
large  vault  in  an  hour.  We  were  drawing  manure  from  the  yards 
with  three  teams  and  piling  it  in  the  field.  We  brought  back  a  load 
of  sand  and  threw  half  of  it  into  the  vault,  and  put  the  other  half 
on  one  side,  to  be  used  as  required.  The  sand  and  fa3ces  were  then, 
with  a  long-handled  shovel,  thrown  into  the  wagon,  and  drawn  to 
the  pile  of  manure  in  the  field,  and  thrown  on  to  the  pile,  not  more 
than  two  or  three  inches  thick.  The  team  brought  back  a  load  of 
sand,  and  so  we  continued  until  the  work  was  done.  Sand  or  dry 
earth  is  cheap,  and  we  used  all  that  was  necessary  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  any  unpleasant  gases,  and  to  keep  the  material  from  ad- 
hering to  the  shovels  or  the  wagon. 

44 Human  urine,"  said  the  Doctor,  "is  richer  hi  phosphoric  acid, 


DIFFERENT    KINDS    OF    MANURE.  309 

but  much  poorer  in  nitrogen  and  potash  than  the  urine  from 
horses,  cows,  sheep,  and  swine." 

"  Some  years  ago,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  Mr.  H.  E.  Hooker,  of  Roch- 
ester, used  to  draw  considerable  quantities  of  urine  from  the  city 
to  his  farm.  It  would  pay  better  to  draw  out  the  urine  from  farm 
animals." 

t4  The  figures  given  above,"  said  I,  "  showing  tho  composition  of 
ijuman  excrements,  are  from  Prof.  Wolff,  and  probably  are  gener- 
ally correct.  But,  of  course,  the  composition  of  the  excrements 
would  vary  greatly,  according  to  the  food." 

It  has  been  ascertained  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  that  the  amount  of 
matter  voided  by  an  adult  male  in  the  course  of  a  year  is— faeces, 
95  Ibs.;  urine,  1,049  Ibs.;  total  liquid  and  solid  excrements  in  the 
pure  state,  1,144  Ibs.  These  contain : 

Dry  substance— faeces,  231  Ibs.;  urine,  84£  ;  total,  58 $  Ibs. 
Mineral  matter— faeces,  2£  Ibs.;  urine,  12  ;  total,  14i  Ibs. 
Carbon— fasces,  10  Ibs.;  urine,  12 ;  total  22  Ibs 
Nitrogen— faces,  1.2  Ibs.;  urine,  10.8;  total,  12  Ibs. 
Phosphoric  acid— fseces,  0.7  Ibs.;  urine,  1.93  ;  total,  2.G3  Ibs. 
Potash— f*ces,  0.24  Ibs.;  urine,  2.01;  total,  2.25  Jbs. 

The  amount  of  potash  is  given  by  Prof.  E.  WoliF,  not  by  Lawes 
and  Gilbert. 

The  mixed  solid  and  liquid  excrements,  in  the  condition  they 
leave  the  body,  contain  about  95  per  cent  of  water.  It  would  re- 
quire, therefore,  20  tons  of  fresh  mixed  excrements,  to  make  one 
ton  of  dry  nightsoil,  or  the  entire  amount  voided  by  a  mixed  family 
of  43  persons  in  a  year. 

One  hundred  Ibs.  ol  fresh  faeces  contain  75  Ibs.  of  water,  and  25 
Ibs.  of  dry  substance. 

One  hundred  Ibs.  of  fresh  urine  contain  96£  Ibs.  of  water,  and 
3|  Ibs.  of  dry  substance. 

One  hundred-  Ibs.  of  the  dry  substance  of  the  faeces  contain  5  Ibs. 
of  nitrogen,  and  5J  Ibs.  of  phosphates. 

One  hundred  Ibs.  of  the  dry  substance  of  the  urine  contain  27 
'\?.  of  nitrogen,  and  lOf  Ibs.  of  phosphates. 

These  figures  are  from  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  and  may  be  taken  as 
representing  the  composition  of  excrements  from  moderately  well- 
fed  persons. 

According  to  Wolff,  a  ton  of  fresh  human  urine  contains  12  Ibs. 
of  nitrogen.  According  to  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  18  Ibs. 

The  liquid  carted  from  the  city  by  Mr.  Hooker  was  from  well-fed 
aduH  males,  and  would  doubtless  be  fully  equal  to  the  figures  given 
by  Lawes  and  Gilbert.  If  we  call  the  nitrogen  worth  20  cents  a  lb., 


310 


TALKS    OX    MANURES. 


and  the  phosphoric  acid  (soluble)  worth  12£  cents,  a  ton  of  such 
urine  would  be  worth,  on  the  land,  $i.06. 

"A  ton  of  the  fresh  faeces,"  said  the  Deacon,  "at  the  same  esti- 
mate, would  be  worth  (20  Ibs.  nitrogen,  at  20  cents,  $4;  21f  Ibs. 
phosphoric  acid,  at  12£  cents,  $3.70),  $6.70." 

"  Not  by  a  good  deal,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  The  nitrogen  and 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  urine  are  both  soluble,  and  would  be  imme- 
diately available.  But  the  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  in  the 
ftsc'es  would  be  mostly  insoluble.  We  cannot  estimate  the  nitrogen 
in  the  faeces  at  over  15  cents  a  lb.,  and  the  phosphoric  acid  at 
5  cents.  This  would  make  the  value  of  a  ton  of  fresli  faeces,  on,  the 
land,  $4.09." 

"  This  makes  the  ton  of  faeces  worth  about  the  same  as  a  ton  of 
urine.  But  I  would  like  to  know,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  if  you  really 
believe  we  could  afford  to  pay  $4  per  ton  for  the  stuff  delivered  on 
the  farm  ?  " 

u  If  we  could  get  the  genuine  article,"  said  the  Doctor,  "it  would 
be  worth  $4  a  ton.  Bat,  as  a  rule,  it  is  mixed  with  water,  r.nd  dirt, 
and  stones,  and  brinks,  anil  rubbish  of  all  kinds.  Stili,  it  is  un- 
questionably a  valuable  fertilizer." 

"In  the  dry-earth  clos2ts,"  said  I,  "such  a  large  quantity  of 
earth  has  to  be  used  to  absorb  the  liquid,  that  the  material,  even  if 
used  several  times,  is  not  worth  carting  any  considerable  distance. 
Dr.  Gilbert  found  that  5  tons  of  absolutely  dry  earth,  before  usinr, 
contained  16.7  Ibs.  of  nitrogen. 

Af  te.  being  used  once, 5  tons  of  the  dry  earth  contained  24.0  Ibs. 

36.3  " 
44.6    " 
54.0    " 

61.4  " 
71.6    " 


twice, 

three  times,, 
four  t?mes, . . 
five  times, . . 
six  times,.... 


Dr.  Vrelckcr  found  that  five  tons  of  dry  earth  gained  about  7  Ibs. 
of  nitrogen,  and  11  Ibs.  of  phosphoric  acid,  each  time  it  was  used 
in  t-ie  closets.  If  we  consider  each  lb.  of  nitrogen  with  the  phos- 
phoric add  worth  20  cents  a  lb.,  5  tons  of  the  dry  earth,  after  being 
used  once,  would  be  worth  $1.46,  or  less  than  30  cents  a  ton,  and 
after  it  had  been  used  six  times,  five  tons  of  the  material  would  be 
worth  $11.98,  or  about  $2.40  per  ton. 

In  this  calculation  I  have  not  reckoned  in  the  value  of  the  nitro- 
gen the  soil  contained  before  using.  Soil,  on  a  farm,  is  cheap. 

It  is  clear  from  these  facts  that  any  earth-closet  manure  a  farmer 
would  be  likely  to  purchase  in  the  city  has  not  a  very  high  value. 
It  is  absurd  to  talk  of  making  "  guano  "  or  any  concentrated  fertil- 
izer out  of  the  material  from  earth-closets. 


DIFFEliliNT   KINDS    OF    MANURE.  311 

"  It  is  rather  a  reflection  on  our  science  and  practical  skill,"  said 
the  Doctor,  "  but  it  looks  at  present  as  though  the  only  plan  to 
adopt  in  large  cities  is  to  use  enormous  quantities  of  water  and 
wash  the  stuff  into  the  rivers  and  oceans  for  the  use  of  aquatic 
plants  and  fishes.  The  nitrogen  is  not  all  lost.  Some  of  it  comes 
back  to  us  in  rains  and  dews.  Of  course,  there  are  places  where 
the  sewage  of  oar  cities  and  villages  can  be  used  for  irrigating 
purposes.  But  when  water  is  used  as  freely  as  it  ought  to  be  used 
for  health,  the  sewage  is  SQ  extremely  poor  in  fertilizing  matter, 
that  it  must  be  used  in  enormous  quantities,  to  furnish  a  dressing 
equal  to  an  application  of  20  tons  of  stable-manure  per  acre." 

44  If,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  the  sewage  is  used  merely  as  water 
for  irrigating  purposes,  that  is  another  question.  The  water  itself 
may  often  be  of  great  benefit.  This  aspect  of  the  question  has  not 
received  the  attention  it  merits." 

PERUVIAN    GUANO. 

Guano  is  the  manure  of  birds  that  live  principally  on  fish. 

Fish  contain  a  high  percentage  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid, 
and  consequently  vfhen  fish  are  digested  and  the  carbon  is  burnt 
out  of  them,  the  manure  that  is  left  contains  a  still  higher  percent- 
age of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  than  the  fish  from  which  it 
was  derived. 

Guano  is  digested  fish.  If  the  guano,  or  the  manure  from  the 
birds  living  on  fish,  has  been  preserved  without  loss,  it  would  con- 
tain not  only  a  far  higher  percentage  of  nitrogen,  but  the  nitrogen 
would  be  in  a  much  more  available  condition,  and  consequently 
be  more  valuable  than  the  fish  from  which  the  guano  is  made. 

The  difference  in  the  value  of  guano  is  largely  clue  to  a  difference 
in  the  climate  and  locality  in  which  it  is  deposited  by  the  birds. 
In  a  rainless  and  hot  climate,  where  the  bird-droprings  would  dry 
rapidly,  little  or  no  putrefaction  or  fermentation  would  take  place, 
and  there  would  be  no  loss  of  nitrogen  from  the  formation  and 
escape  of  ammonia. 

In  a  damper  climate,  or  where  there  was  more  or  less  rain,  the 
bird  droppings  would  putrefy,  and  the  ammonia  would  be  liable  to 
evaporate,  or  to  be  leached  out  by  the  rain. 

Thirty  years  ago  I  saw  a  quantity  of  Peruvian  guano  that  con- 
tained more  than  18  per  cent  of  nitrogen.  It  was  remarkably  light 
colored.  You  know  that  the  white  part  of  hen-droppings  consists 
principally  of  uric  acid,which  contains  about  33  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

For  many  years  it  was  not  difficult  to  find  guano  containing  13 
per  cent  of  nitrogen,  and  genuine  Peruvian  guano  was  the  cheap- 


312  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

est  and  best  source  of  available  nitrogen.  But  latterly,  not  only 
has  the  price  been  advanced,  but  the  quality  of  the  guano  has  de- 
teriorated. It  has  contained  less  nitrogen  and  more  phosphoric 
acid.  S^e  the  Chapter  on  "  Value  of  Fertilizers,"  Page  ?24. 

SALTS    OF   AMMONIA   AND    NITKATE    OF    SODA. 

"I  wish,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  you  would  tell  us  something  about 
the '  ammonia-salts '  and  nitrate  of  soda  so  long  used  in  Lawes  and 
Gilbert's  experiments.  I  have  never  seen  any  of  them." 

u  You  could  not  invest  a  little  money  to  better  advantage  than 
to  send  for  s.  few  bags  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  nitrate  of  soda. 
You  would  then  see  what  they  are,  and  would  learn  more  by  using 
them,  than  I  can  tell  you  in  a  month.  You  use  them  just  as  you 
would  common  salt.  As  a  rule,  the  better  plan  is  to  sow  them 
broadcast,  and  it  is  important  to  distribute  them  evenly.  In  sowing 
common  salt,  if  you  drop  a  handful  in  a  place,  it  will  kill  the 
plants.  And  so  it  is  with  nitrate  of  soda  or  sulphate  of  ammonia. 
Two  or  three  pounds  on  a  square  rod  will  do  good,  but  if  you  put 
half  of  it  on  a  square  yard,  it  will  burn  up  the  crop,  and  the  other 
half  will  be  applied  in  such  a  small  quantity  that  you  will  see  but 
little  effect,  and  will  conclude  that  it  is  a  humbug.  Judging  from 
over  thirty  years'  experience,  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  not  one  man 
in  ten  can  be  trusted  to  sow  these  manures.  They  should  be  sown 
with  as  much  care  as  you  sow  graSs  or  clover-seed." 

"  The  best  plan,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  to  mix  them,  with  sifted 
coal-ashes,  or  with  gypsum,  or  sifted  earth." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  I,  "  though  there  is  nothing  gained  by  mix- 
ing earth  or  ashes  with  them,  except  in  securing  a  more  even  dis- 
tribution. And  if  I  was  going  to  sow  them  myself,  I  would  much 
prefer  sowing  them  unmixed.  Any  man  who  can  sow  wheat  or 
barley  can  sow  sulphate  of  ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda." 

*'  Lawes  and  Gilbert,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  used  sulphate  and  mu- 
riate of  ammonia,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  the  carbonate  of 
ammonia.  Which  is  the  best  ?" 

"  The  one  that  will  furnish  r  mmonia  or  nitrogen  at  the  cheapest 
rate,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  the  best  to  use.  The  muriate  of  ammo- 
nia contains  the  most  ammonia,  but  the  sulphate,  in  proportion 
to  the  ammonia,  is  cheaper  than  the  muriate,  and  far  cheaper  than 
the  carbonate. 

Carbonate  of  ammonia  contains  21|  per  cent  of  ammonia. 

£u!phate  of  ammonia  contains  25|  per  cent  of  a 
of  nitrogen. 


DIFFERENT    KINDS    OF    MANURE.  313 

Muriate  of  ammonia  contains  31  per  cent  of  ammonia:=:25i  of 
nitrogen. 

Nitrate  of  soda  contains  162/5  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

Nitrate  of  potash,  13f  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

From  these  figures  you  can  ascertain,  when  you  know  the  price 
of  each,  which  is  the  cheapest  source  of  nitrogen. 

u  True,"  said  I,  "  but  it  must  be  understood  that  these  figures  re- 
present the  composition  of  a  pure  article.  The  commercial  sul- 
phate of  ammonia,  and  nitrate  of  soda,  would  usually  contain  10 
per  cent  of  impurities.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  who  have  certainly  had 
much  experience,  and  doubtless  get  the  best  commercial  articles, 
state  that  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  sulphate  and  muriate  of  ammo- 
nia contains  about  25  per  cent  of  ammonia.  According  to  the  fig- 
ures given  by  the  Doctor,  the  mixture  would  contain,  if  pure,  over 
28  per  cent  of  ammonia.  In  other  words,  90  Ibs.  of  the  pure  article 
contains  as  much  as  100  Ibs.  of  the  commercial  article." 

As  to  whether  it  is  better,  when  you  can  buy  nitrogen  at  the 
same  price  in  nitrate  of  soda  as  you  can  in  sulphate  of  ammonia, 
to  use  the  one  or  the  other  will  depend  on  circumstances.  The 
nitrogen  exists  as  nitric  acid  in  the  nitrate  of  soda,  and  as  ammo- 
nia in  the  sulphate  of  ammonia.  Bat  there  are  good  reasons  to 
believe  that  before  ammonia  is  used  by  the  plants  it  is  converted 
into  nitric  acid.  If,  therefore,  we  could  apply  the  nitrate  just 
where  it  is  wanted  by  the  growing  crop,  and  when  there  is  rain 
enough  to  thoroughly  distribute  it  through  the  soil  to  the  depth  of 
six  or  eight  inches,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  nitrate,  in 
proportion  to  the  nitrogen,  would  have  a  quicker  and  better  effect 
than  the  sulphate  of  ammonia. 

"There  is  another  point  to  be  considered,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"  Nitric  acid  is  much  more  easily  washed  out  of  the  soil  than  am- 
monia. More  or  less  of  the  ammonia  enters  into  chemical  com- 
bination with  portions  of  the  soil,  and  may  be  retained  for  months 
or  years." 

When  we  use  nitrate  of  soda,  we  run  the  risk  of  losing  more  or 
less  of  it  from  leaching,  while  if  we  use  ammonia,  we  lose,  for  the 
time  being,  more  or  less  of  it  from  its  becoming  locked  up  in  in- 
soluble combinations  in  the  soil.  For  spring  crops,  such  as  barley 
or  oats,  or  spring  wheat,  or  for  a  meadow  or  lawn,  or  for  top- 
dressing  winter-wheat  in  the  spring,  the  nitrate  of  soda,  provided 
it  is  sown  early  enough,  or  at  any  time  in  the  spring,  just  previous 
to  a  heavy  rain,  is  likely  to  produce  a  better  effect  than  the  sulphate 
of  ammonia.  But  for  sowing  in  the  autumn  on  winter-wheat  the 
ammonia  is  to  be  preferred. 


314  TALKS    OX    MAKURES. 

"  Saltpetre,  or  nitrate  of  potash,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  does  not 
contain  as  much  nitrogen  as  nitrate  of  soda." 

"And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  if  it  could  be  purchased  at  the 
same  price,  it  would  be  the  cheaper  manure.  It  contains  46£  per 
cent  of  potash,  and  on  soils,  or  for  crops  where  potash  is  needed, 
we  may  sometimes  be  able  to  purchase  saltpetre  to  advantage." 

"  If  I  could  come  across  a  lot  of  damaged  saltpetre,"  said  I, 
"  that  could  begot  for  what  it  is  worth  as  manure,  I  should  like  to 
try  it  on  my  apple  trees — one  row  with  nitrate  of  soda,  and  one  row 
with  nitrate  of  potash.  When  we  apply  manure  to  apple  trees,  the 
ammonia,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  are  largely  retained  in  the 
first  few  inches  of  surface  soil,  and  the  deeper  roots  get  hold  of 
only  those  portions  which  leach  through  the  upper  layer  of  earth. 
Nitric  acid,  however,  is  easily  washed  down  into  the  subsoil,  and 
would  soon  reach  all  the  roots  of  the  trees." 


CHAPTEE     XXXVII. 
BONE-DUST  AND  SUPERPHOSPHATE  OF  LIME. 

Bone-dust  is  often  spoken  of  as  a  phosphatic  manure,  and  it  has 
been  supposed  that  the  astonishing  effect  bone-dust  sometimes  pro- 
duces on  old  pasture-land,  is  due  to  its  furnishing  phosphoric  acid 
to  the  soil. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  bone-dust  furnishes  nitrogen 
as  well  as  phosphoric  acid,  and  we  are  not  warranted  in  ascribing 
the  good  effect  of  bones  to  phosphoric  acid  alone. 

Bones  differ  considerably  in  composition.  They  consist  essen- 
tially of  gelatine  and  phosphate  of  lime.  Bones  from  young  ani- 
mals, and  the  soft  porous  parts  of  all  bones,  contain  more  gelatine 
than  the  solid  parts,  or  the  bones  from  older  animals.  On  the  aver- 
age, 1,000  Ibs.  of  good  commercial  bone-dust  contains  38  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen. 

On  the  old  dairy  farms  of  Cheshire,  where  bone-dust  produced 
such  marked  improvement  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  pas- 
tures and  meadows,  it  was  usual  to  apply  from  4,000  .to  5,000  Ibs. 
per  acre,  and  often  more.  In  other  words,  a  dressing  of  bone-d-;st 


BONE-DUST    AXD    SUPERPHOSPHATE    OF    LIME.  315 

frequently  contained  200  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre — equal  to  20  or 
25  tons  of  barn-yard  manure. 

"It  has  been  supposed,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  owing  to  the 
removal  of  so  much  phosphoric  acid  in  the  cheese  sold  from  the 
farm,  that  the  dairy  pastures  of  Cheshire  had  been  exhausted  of 
phosphoric  acid,  and  that  the  wonderful  benefits  following  an  ap- 
plication of  bone-dust  to  these  pastures,  was  due  to  its  supplying 
phosphoric  acid." 

"  I  do  not  doubt,"  said  I,  "  the  value  of  phosphoric  acid  when 
applied  in  connection  with  nitrogen  to  old  pasture  lands,  but  I 
contend  that  the  experience  of  the  Cheshire  dairymen  with  bone- 
dust  is  no  positive  proof  that  their  soils  were  particularly  deficient 
in  phosphoric  acid.  There  are  many  instances  given  where  the 
gelatine  of  the  bones,  alone,  proved  of  great  value  to  the  grass. 
And  I  think  it  will  be  found  that  the  Cheshire  dairymen  do  not  find 
as  much  benefit  from  superphosphate  as  they  did  from  bone-dust. 
And  the  reason  is,  that  the  latter,  in  addition  to  the  phosphoric 
acid,  furnished  a  liberal  dressing  of  nitrogen.  Futhermore,  it  is 
not  true  that  dairying  specially  robs  the  soil  of  phosphoric  acid. 
Take  one  of  these  old  dairy  farms  in  Cheshire,  where  a  dressing  of 
bone-dust,  according  to  a  writer  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society,  has  caused  '  a  miserable  covering  of  pink  grass, 
rushes,  and  a  variety  of  other  noxious  weeds,  to  give  place  to  the 
most  luxuriant  herbage  of  wild  clover,  trefoil,  and  other  succulent 
and  nutritious  grasses.'  It  is  evident  from  this  description  of  the 
pastures  before  the  bones  were  used,  that  it  would  take  at  least 
three  acres  to  keep  a  cow  for  a  year. 

"  I  have  known,"  says  the  same  writer  quoted  above,  "  many  a 
poor,  honest,  but  half  broken-hearted  man  raised  from  poverty  to 
comparative  independence,  and  many  a  sinking  family  saved  from 
inevitable  ruin  by  the  help  of  this  wonderful  manure."  And  this 
writer  not  only  spoke  from  observation  and  experience,  but  he 
showed  his  faith  by  his  works,  for  he  tells  us  that  he  had  paid 
nearly  $50,000  for  this  manure. 

Now,  on  one  of  these  poor  dairy  farms,  where  it  required  3  acres 
to  keep  a  cow,  and  where  the  grass  was  of  poor  quality,  it  is  not 
probable  that  the  cows  produced  over  250  Ibs.  of  cheese  in  a  year. 
One  thousand  pounds  of  cheese  contains,  on  the  average,  about 
45£  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  ;  2.J-  Ibs.  of  potash,  and  11£  Ibs.  of  phosphoric 
acid.  From  this  it  follows,  if  250  Ibs.  of  cheese  are  sold  annually 
from  three  acres  of  pasture,  less  than  one  Ib.  of  phosphoric  acid 
per  acre  is  exported  from  the  farm  in  the  cheese. 
One  ton  of  timothy-hay  contains  nearly  14J-  Ibs.  of  phosphoric 


3JG  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

acid.  And  so  a  farmer  who  raises  a  ton  of  timothy-hay  per  acre, 
and  sells  it,  sends  off  as  much  phosphoric  acid  in  one  year  as  such 
a  Cheshire  dairyman  as  I  have  alluded  to  did  in  fourteen  years. 

What  the  dairymen  want,  and  what  farmers  generally  want,  is 
nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid.  Bone-dust  furnishes  both,  and  this 
was  the  reason  of  its  wonderful  effects. 

It  does  not  follow  from  this,  that  bone-dust  is  the  cheapest  and 
best  manure  we  can  use.  It  is  an  old  and  popular  manure,  and 
usually  commands  a  good  price.  It  sells  for  all  it  is  worth.  A 
dozen  years  ago,  I  bought  ten  tons  of  bone-dust  at  $18  per  ton.  I 
have  offered  $25  per  ton  since  for  a  similar  lot,  but  the  manufac- 
turers find  a  market  in  New  York  for  all  they  can  make. 


Bone-dust,  besides  nitrogen,  contains  about  23  per  cent  of 
phosphoric  acid. 

"  That  does  not  give  me,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  any  idea  of  its 
value." 

"  Let  us  put  it  in  another  shape,  then,"  said  I.  "  One  ton  of  good 
bone-dust  contains  about  as  much  nitrogen  as  8|  tons  of  fresh 
stable-manure,  and  as  much  phosphoric  acid  as  110  tons  of  fresh 
stable-manure.  But  one  ton  of  manure  contains  more  potash  than 
5  tons  of  bone-dust. 

Bone-dust,  like  barnyard-manure,  does  not  immediately  yield 
up  its  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  to  plants.  The  bone  phosphate 
of  lime  is  insoluble  in  water,  and  but  very  slightly  soluble  in 
water  containing  carbonic  acid.  The  gelatine  of  the  bones  would 
soon  decompose  in  a  moist,  porous,  warm  soil,  provided  it  was 
not  protected  by  the  oil  and  by  the  hard  matter  of  the  bones. 
Steaming,  by  removing  the  oil,  removes  one  of  the  hindrances  to 
decomposition.  Reducing  the  bones  as  fine  as  possible  is  another 
means  of  increasing  their  availability. 

Another  good  method  of  increasing  the  availability  of  bone-dust 
is  to  mix  it  with  barnyard-manure,  and  let  both  ferment  together 
in  a  heap.  I  am  inclined  to  think  this  the  best,  simplest,  and 
most  economical  method  of  rendering  bone-dust  available.  The 
bone-dust  causes  the  heap  of  manure  to  ferment  more  readily,  and 
the  fermentation  of  the  manure  softens  the  bones.  Both  the  ma- 
nure and  the  bones  arc  improved  and  rendered  richer  and  more 
available  by  the  process. 

Another  method  of  increasing  the  availability  of  bone-dust  is  by 
mixing  it  with  sulphuric  acid. 


BONE-DUST    AND    SUPEKPHOSPHATE    OF    LIME.  317 

The  phosphate  of  liine  in  bones  is  insoluble  in  water,  though 
rain  water  containing  carbonic  acid,  and  the  water  in  soils,  slowly 
dissolve  it.  By  treating  the  bones  with  sulphuric  acid,  the  phos- 
phate of  lime  is  decomposed  and  rendered  soluble.  Consequently 
bone-dust  treated  with  sulphuric  acid  will  act  much  more  rapidly 
than  ordinary  bone-dust.  The  sulphuric  acid  does  not  make  it  any 
Tidier  in  phosphoric  acid  or  nitrogen.  It  simply  renders  them  more 
available. 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  use  of  sulphuric  acid  for  '  dis- 
solving' bones,  or  rather  phosphate  of  lime,  introduced  a  new  era 
in  agriculture.  It  is  the  grand  agricultural  fact  of  the  nineteenth 
century." 

"It  is  perhaps  not  necessaiy,"  said  I,  "  to  give  any  direction  for 
treating  bones  with  sulphuric  acid.  We  have  got  beyond  that. 
We  can  now  buy  superphosphate  cheaper  than  we  can  make  it 
from  bones." 

"  But  is  it  as  good  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

"Soluble  phosphate  of  lime,"  said  I,  "is  soluble  phosphate  of 
lime,  and  it  makes  no  difference  whether  it  is  made  from  burnt 
bones,  or  from  phosphatic  guano,  or  mineral  phosphate.  That  ques- 
tion has  been  fully  decided  by  the  most  satisfactory  experiments." 

"Before  you  and  the  Deacon  discuss  that  subj2ct,"  said  the  Doc- 
tor, "  it  would  be  well  to  tell  Charley  what  superphosphate  is." 

"  I  wish  you  would  tell  me,"  said  Charley. 

"  Well,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  phosphate  of  lime,  as  it  exists  in 
bones,  is  composed  of  three  atoms  of  lime  and  one  atom  of  phos- 
phoric acid.  Chemists  call  it  the  tricalcic  phosphate.  It  is  also 
called  the  basic  phosphate  of  lime,  and  not  unfreqiiently  the 
'bone-earth  phosphate.'  It  is  the  ordinary  or  common  form  of 
phosphate  of  lime,  as  it  exists  in  animals,  and  plants,  and  in  the 
various  forms  of  mineral  phosphates. 

"  Then  there  is  another  phosphate  of  lime,  called  the  dicalcic 
phosphate,  or  neutral  phosphate  of  lime,  or  reverted  phosphate  of 
lime.  It  is  composed  of  one  atom  of  water,  two  atoms  of  lime, 
and  one  atom  of  phosphoric  acid. 

"Then  we  have  what  we  call  superphosphate,  or  acid  phosphate 
of  lime,  or  more  properly  monocalcic  phosphate.  It  is  composed 
of  two  atoms  of  water,  one  atom  of  lime,  and  one  atom  of  phos- 
phoric acid.  This  acid  phosphate  of  lime  is  soluble  in  water. 

"  The  manufacture  of  superphosphate  of  lime  is  based  on  these 
facts.  The  one-lime  phosphate  is  soluble,  the  three-lime  phosphate 
is  insoluble.  To  convert  the  latter  into  the  former,  all  we  have 
to  do  is  to  take  away  twv  atoms  of  lime. 


318  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  Sulpharic  acid  has  a  stronger  affinity  for  lime  than  phosphoric 
acid.  And  when  you  mix  enough  sulphuric  acid  with  finely  ground 
three-lime  phosphate,  to  take  away  two  atoms  of  lime,  you  get  the 
phosphoric  acid  united  with  one  atom  of  lime,  and  two  atoms  of 
water." 

"  And  what,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  becomes  of  the  two  atoms  of 
lime  ?  " 

"  They  unite  with  the  sulphuric  acid,1'  said  the  Doctor,  "  and 
form  plaster,  gypsum,  or  sulphate  of  lime." 

"The  molecular  weight  of  water,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "is 
18 ;  of  lime,  56 ;  of  sulphuric  acid,  80 ;  of  phosphoric  acid,  143. 

"  An  average  sample  of  commercial  bone  dust,"  continued  the 
Doctor,  "  contains  about  50  per  cent  of  phosphate  of  lime.  If  we 
take  620  Ibs.  of  finely-ground  bone-dust,  containing  310  Ibs.  of 
three  lime  phosphats,  and  mix  with  it  160  Ibs.  of  sulphuric  acid 
(say  240  Ibs.  common  oil  of  vitriol,  sp.  gr.  1.7),  the  sulphuric  acid 
will  unite  with  112  Ibs.  of  lime,  and  leave  the  142  Ibs.  of  phos- 
phoric acid  united  with  the  remaining  56  Ibs.  of  lime." 

"And  that  will  give  you,"  said  the  Deacon,  "780  Ibs.  of  'dis- 
solved bones,'  or  superphosphate  of  lime." 

"  It  will  give  you  more  than  that,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  because,  as 
I  said  before,  the  two  atoms  of  lime  (112  Ibs.)  are  replaced  by  two 
atoms  (86  Ibs.)  of  water.  And,  furthermore,  the  two  atoms  of 
sulphate  of  lime  produced,  contained  two  atoms  (36  Ibs.)  of  water. 
The  mixture,  therefore,  contains,  even  when  perfectly  dry,  72  Ibs. 
of  water." 

"  Where  does  this  water  come  from  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

"When  I  was  at  Rothamsted,"  said  1,  "the  superphosphate 
which  Mr.  Lawes  used  in  his  experiments  was  made  on  the  farm 
from  animal  charcoal,  or  burnt  Doncs,  ground  as  fine  as  possible — 
the  finer  the  better.  We  took  40  Ibs.  of  the  meal,  and  mixed  it 
with  20  Ibs.  of  water,  and  then  poured  on  30  Ibs.  of  common  sul- 
phuric acid  (sp.  g.  1.7),  and  stirred  it  up  rapidly  and  thoroughly, 
and  then  threw  it  out  of  the  vessel  into  a  heap,  on  the  earth-floor 
in  the  barn.  Then  mixed  another  portion,  and  so  on,  until  we  had 
the  desired  quantity,  say  two  or  three  tons.  The  last  year  I  was 
at  Rothamsted,  we  mixed  40  Ibs.  bone-meal,  30  Ibs.  water,  and  30 
Ibs.  acid ;  and  we  thought  the  additional  water  enabled  us  to  mix 
the  acid  and  meal  together  easier  and  better." 

"Dr.  Habirshaw  tells  me,"  said  the  Doctor,  "that  in  making 
the  ' Rectified  Peruvian  Guano' no  water  is  necessary,  and  none 
is  used.  The  water  in  the  guano  and  in  the  acid  is  sufficient  to 


BONE-DUST    AND    SUPERPHOSPHATE    OF    LIME.  319 

furnish  the  two  atoms  of  water  for  the  phosphate,  and  the  two 
atoms  for  the  sulphate  of  lime." 

"  Such  is  undoubtedly  the  case,"  said  I,  "  and  when  large  quan- 
tities of  superphosphate  are  made,  and  the  mixing  is  done  by  ma- 
chinery, it  is  not  necessary  to  use  water.  The  advantage  of  usiug 
water  is  in  the  greater  ease  of  mixing." 

"  Bone-dust,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  contains  about  6  per  cent  of 
water,  and  the  sulphuric  acid  (sp.  g.  1.7)  contains  about  one-third 
its  weight  of  water.  So  that,  if  you  take  620  Ibs.  of  bone-dust, 
and  mix  with  it  240  Ibs.  of  common  sulphuric  acid,  you  have  in 
the  mixture  117  Ibs.  of  water,  which  is  45  Ibs.  more  than  is  needed 
to  furnish  the  water  of  combination." 

"The  superphosphate  produced  from  620  Ibs.  of  bones,  there- 
fore," continued  the  Doctor,  "would  contain: 


Phosphoric  acid )  (143  Ibs. 

Lime >•  acid  phosphate -!   5 

Water j  )    3 

Sulphuric  acid )  (160  Ibs. 

Lime }- sulphate  of  lime -{112 

Water |  (   3G 

Organic  matter,  ash,  etc.,  of  the  bones* 335 

Total  dry  superphosphate b'<7 

Moisture,  or  loss 45 


Total  mixture 9^  Ibs. 

*  Containing  nitrogen,  23j£  Ibs. 

"  There  is  a  small  quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  the  bones," 
said  I,  "  which  would  take  up  a  little  of  the  acid,  and  you  will 
have  a  remarkably  good  article  if  you  calculate  that  the  620  Ibs.  of 
bone-dust  furnish  you  half  a  ton  (1,000  Ibs.)  of  superphosphate.  It 
will  be  a  better  article  than  it  is  practically  possible  to  make." 

"  Assuming  that  it  made  half  a  ton,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  it  would 
contain  14£  per  cent  of  soluble  phosphoric  acid,  and  2>V  per  cent 
of  nitrogen." 

"With  nitrogen  at  20  cents  per  lb.,  and  soluble  phosphoric 
acid  at  12|c.  per  lb.,  this  half  ton  of  superphosphate,  made  from 
620  Ibs.  of  good  bono-clust,  would  be  worth  $22.50,  or  $45  per  ton." 

"  Or,  to  look  at  it  in  another  light,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  a 
ton  of  bone-dust,  made  into  such  a  superphosphate  as  we  are  talk- 
ing about,  would  be  worth  $72.58." 

"  How  much,"  asked  the  Deacon,  u  would  a  ton  of  the  bone-dust 
be  considered  worth  before  it  was  converted  into  superphosphate  ?  " 

"A  ton  of  bone-dust,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "  contains  76  Ibs.  of 
nitrogen,  worth,  at  18  cents  per  ib.,  $13.68,  and  464  Ibs.  phosphoric 
acid,  worth  7  cents  per  lb.,  $32.48.  In  other  words,  a  ton  of  bone- 
dust,  at  the  usual  estimate,  is  worth  $46.16." 


320  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

"  And,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  after  it  is  converted  into  superphos- 
phate, the  same  ton  of  bones  is  worth  $72.58.  It  thus  appears  that 
you  pay  $26.42  per  ton  for  simply  making  the  phosphoric  acid  in 
a  ton  of  bones  soluble.  Is'nt  it  paying  a  little  too  much  for  the 
whistle  ?  " 

"  Possibly  such  is  the  case,"  said  I,  "and  in  point  of  fact,  I 
think  bone-dust,  especially  from  steame.d  or  boiled  bones,  can  be 
used  with  more  economy  in  its  natural  state  than  in  the  form  of 
superphosphate." 

Superphosphate  can  be  made  more  economically  from  mineral 
phosphates  than  from  bones— the  nitrogen,  if  desired,  being  sup- 
plied from  fish-scrap  or  from  some  other  cheap  source  of  nitrogen. 

But  for  my  own  use  I  would  prefer  to  buy  a  good  article  of 
superphosphate  of  lime,  containing  no  nitrogen,  provided  it  can 
be  obtained  cheap  enough.  I  would  buy  the  ammoniacal,  or  nitro- 
genous manure  separately,  and  do  my  own  mixing — unless  the 
mixture  could  be  bought  at  a  less  cost  than  the  same  weight  of 
soluble  phosphoric  acid,  and  available  nitrogen  could  be  obtained 
separately. 

A  pure  superphosphate — and  by  pure  I  mean  a  superphosphate 
containing  no  nitrogen — can  be  drilled  in  with  the  seed  without 
injury,  but  I  should  be  a  little  afraid  of  drilling  in  some  of  the 
ammoniacal  or  nitrogenous  superphosphates  with  small  seeds. 

And  then,  again,  the  "nitrogen"  in  a  superphosphate  mixture 
may  be  in  the  form  of  nitric  acid,  or  sulphate  of  ammonia,  in  one 
case,  or,  in  another  case,  in  the  form  of  hair,  woollen  rags,  hide, 
or  leather.  It  is  far  more  valuable  as  nitric  acid  or  ammonia, 
because  it  will  act  quicker,  and  if  I  wanted  hair,  woollen  rags, 
horn-shavings,  etc.,  I  would  prefer  to  have  them  separate  from 
the  superphosphate. 


CHAPTER     XXXVIII. 
SPECIAL  MANURES. 

Twenty  five  to  thirty  years  ago,  much  was  said  in  regard  to  spe- 
cial manures.  Fertilizers  were  prepared  for  the  different  crops  with 
special  reference  to  the  composition  of  the  plants. 

"But  it  was  known  then,  as  now,"  said  the  Doctor,  "that  all 
our  agricultural  plants  were  composed  of  the  same  elements." 

"  True,  but  what  was  claimed  was  this  :  Some  crops  contain,  for 


SPECIAL    MANURES.  321 

instance,  more  phosphoric  acid  than  other  crops,  and  for  these  a 
manure  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  was  provided.  Others  contained  a 
largo  proportion  of  potash,  and  these  were  called  '  potash  crops,' 
and  the  manure  prescribed  for  them  was  rich  in  potash.  And  so 
with  the  other  ingredients  of  plants." 

"  I  recollect  it  well,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and,  in  truth,  for  several 
years  I  had  much  faith  in  the  idea.  It  was  advocated  with  con- 
summate ability  by  the  lamented  Liebig,  and  in  fact  a  patent  was 
taken  out  by  the  Musgraves,  of  Liverpool,  for  the  manufacture  of 
Liebig's  Special  Manures,  based  on  this  theory.  But  the  manures, 
though  extensively  used  by  the  leading  farmers  of  England,  and 
endorsed  by  the  highest  authorities,  did  not  in  the  end  stand  the 
test  of  actual  farm  practice,  and  their  manufacture  was  abandoned. 
And  I  do  not  know  of  any  experienced  agricultural  chemist  who 
now  advocates  this  doctrine  of  special  manures. 

"Dr.  Vcelcker  says:  *  The  ash-analyses  of  plants  do  not  afford 
a  sufficiently  trustworthy  guide  to  the  practical  farmer  in  selecting 
the  kind  of  manure  which  is  best  applied  to  each  crop.'  " 

"  Never  mind  the  authorities,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  what  we  want 
are  facts." 

"  Well,"  replied  the  Doctor,  u  take  the  wheat  and  turnip  crop  as 
an  illustration. 

"  We  will  suppose  that  there  is  twice  the  weight  of  wheat-straw 
as  of  grain  ;  and  that  to  10  tons  of  bulbs  there  is  3  tons  of  turnip- 
tops.  Now,  100  Ibs.  each  of  the  ash  of  these  two  crops  contain : 

Wheat  crop.  Turnip  crop. 

Phosphoric  acid 11.44  7.33 

Potash 15.44  32.75 

Sulphuric  acid 2.44  11.25 

Lime 5.09  19.28 

Magnesia 3.33  1.56 

"  There  are  other  ingredients,"  continued  the  Doctor, "  but  these 
are  the  most  important. 

"  Now,  if  you  were  going  to  compound  a  manure  for  wheat,  say 
100  Ibs.,  consisting  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  what  would  be 
the  proportions  ? " 

The  Deacon  figured  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  produced  the 
following  table: 

100  LBS.    SPECIAL  MANURE  FOB   WHEAT  AND  TURNIPS. 

Wheat  manure.    Turnip  manure. 

Phosphoric  acid 42i  Ibs.  18*  Ibs. 

Potash 57*  "  811  " 

100   Ibs.  100   Ibs. 

"Exactly,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and  yet  the  experiments  of  Lawea 


322  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

and  Gilbert  clearly  prove  that  a  soil  needs  to  be  richer  m  available 
phosphoric  acid,  to  produce  even  a  fair  crop  of  turnips,  than  to 
produce  a  large  crop  of  wheat.  And  the  experience  of  farmers 
everywhere  tends  in  the  same  direction.  England  is  the  greatest 
turnip-growing  country  in  the  world,  and  you  will  find  tnat  where 
one  farmer  applies  potash  to  turnips,  or  superphosphate  to  wheat, 
a  hundred  farmers  use  superphosphate  as  a  special  manure  for  the 
turnip  crop." 

"And  we  are  certainly  warranted  in  saying,"  continued  the  Doc- 
tor, "  that  the  composition  of  a  plant  affords,  in  practical  agriculture, 
and  on  ordinary  cultivated  soils,  no  sort  of  indication  as  to  the  com- 
position of  the  manure  it  is  best  to  apply  to  the  crop." 

"  Again,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  if  the  theory  was  a  correct  one, 
it  would  follow  that  those  crops  which  contained  the  most  nitro- 
gen, would  require  the  most  nitrogen  in  the  manure.  Beans,  peas, 
and  clover  would  require  a  soil  or  a  manure  richer  in  available  ni- 
trogen than  wheat,  barley,  or  oats.  We  know  that  the  very  reverse 
is  true — know  it  from  actual,  and  repeated,  and  long-continued  ex- 
periments like  those  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  and  from  the  common 
experience  of  farmers  everywhere." 

"  You  need  not  get  excited,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  theory  is  a 
very  plausible  one,  and  while  I  cannot  dispute  your  facts,  I  must 
confess  I  cannot  see  why  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a 
plant  which  contains  a  large  amount  of  nitrogen  should  not  want 
a  manure  specially  rich  in  nitrogen;  or  why  turnips  which  contain 
so  much  potash  should  not  want  a  soil  or  manure  specially  rich  in 
potash." 

"  Do  you  recollect,"  said  I,  "  that  crop  of  turnips  I  raised  on  a 
poor  blowing-sand  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  it  was  the  best  crop  of  turnips  I  ever 
saw  grow." 

"  That  crop  of  turnips,"  said  I,  "  was  due  to  a  dressing  of  super- 
phosphate of  lime,  with  little  or  no  potash  in  it." 

"I  know  all  that,"  said  the  Deacon.  "I  admit  the  fact  that 
superphosphate  is  a  good  manure  for  turnips.  What  I  want  to 
know  is  the  reason  why  superphosphate  is  better  for  turnips  than 
for  wheat  ?  " 

"Many  reasons  might  be  given,"  said  the  Doctor;  "Prof. 
Vcelcker  attributes  it  to  the  limited  feeding  range  of  the  roots  of 
turnips,  as  compared  to  wheat.  *  The  roots  of  wheat,'  says  Prof. 
Vcelcker,  *  as  is  well  known,  penetrate  the  soil  to  a  much  greater 
depth  than  the  more  delicate  feeding  fibres  of  the  roots  of  turnips. 
Wheat,  remaining  on  the  ground  two  or  three  months  longer  than 


SPECIAL   MANTJKES.  323 

turnips,  can  avail  itself  for  a  longer  period  of  the  resources  of  the 
soil ;  therefore  in  most  cases  the  phosphoric  acid  disseminated 
through  the  soil  is  amply  sufficient  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
•wheat  crop ;  whilst  turnips,  depending  on  a  thinner  depth  of  soil 
during  their  shorter  period  of  growth,  cannot  assimilate  sufficient 
phosphoric  acid,  to  come  to  perfection.  This  is,  I  believe,  the 
main  reason  why  the  direct  supply  of  readily  available  phosphates 
>is  so  beneficial  to  root-crops,  and  not  to  wheat." 

"This  reason,"  said  I,  "has  never  been  entirely  satisfactory  to 
me.  If  the  roots  of  the  turnip  have  such  a  limited  range,  how  are 
they  able  to  get  such  a  large  amount  of  potash  ? 

"  It  is  probable  that  the  turnip,  containing  such  a  large  relative 
amount  of  potash  and  so  little  phosphoric  acid,  has  roots  capable 
of  absorbing  potash  from  a  very  weak  solution,  but  not  so  in  re- 
gard to  phosphoric  acid." 

"There  is  another  way  of  looking  at  this  matter,1'  said  the  Doc- 
tor. "  You  must  recollect  that,  if  turnips  and  wheat  were  grow- 
ing in  the  same  field,  both  plants  get  their  food  from  the  same  so- 
lution. And  instead  of  supposing  that  the  wheat-plant  has  the 
power  of  taking  up  more  phosphoric  acid  than  the  turnip-plant, 
we  may  suppose  that  the  turnip  has  the  power  of  rejecting  or  ex- 
cluding a  portion  of  phosphoric  acid.  It  takes  up  no  more  potash 
than  the  wheat-plant,  but  it  takes  less  phosphoric  acid." 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  speculate  on  this  matter.  For  the 
present  we  may  accept  the  fact,  that  the  proportion  of  potash, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  nitrogen  in  the  crop  is  no  indication  of  the 
proper  proportion  in  which  these  ingredients  should  be  applied  to 
the  soil  for  thcss  crops  in  manure. 

It  may  well  be  that  we  should  use  special  manures  for  special 
crops ;  but  we  must  ascertain  what  these  manures  should  be,  not 
from  analyses  of  the  crops  to  be  grown,  but  from  experiment  and 
experience. 

So  far  as  present  facts  throw  light  on  this  subject,  we  should 
conclude  that  those  crops  which  contain  the  least  nitrogen  are  the 
most  likely  to  be  benefited  by  its  artificial  application ;  and  the 
crops  containing  the  most  phosphoric  acid,  are  the  crops  to  which, 
in  ordinary  practical  agriculture,  it  will  bo  unprofitable  to  apply 
superphosphate  of  lime. 

"  That,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  may  be  stating  the  case  a  little  too 
strong." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  I,  "  but  you  must  recollect  I  am  now  speak- 
ing of  practical  agriculture.  If  I  wanted  to  raise  a  good  crop  of 
cabbage,  I  should  not  think  of  consulting  a  chemical  analysis 


324  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

of  the  cabbage.  If  I  set  out  cabbage  on  an  acre  of  land,  which^ 
without  manure,  would  produce  16  tons  of  cabbage,  does  any  one 
mean  to  tell  me  that  if  I  put  the  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid  and  potash  which  10  tons  of  cabbage  contain,  on  an  adjoining 
acre,  that  it  would  produce  an  extra  growth  of  10  tons  of  cabbage. 
I  can  not  believe  it.  The  facts  are  all  the  other  way.  Plant 
growth  is  not  such  a  simple  matter  as  the  advocates  of  this  theory, 
if  there  be  any  at  this  late  day,  would  have  us  believe." 


CHAPTER     XXXIX. 
VALUE  OF  FERTILIZERS. 

In  1857,  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson,  in  his  Report  to  the  Connecticut 
Agricultural  Society,  adopted  the  following  valuation  : 

Potash 4  cents  per  Ib. 

Phosphoric  acid,  insoluble  in  water 4i    "      *'    " 

"             "      soluble      "      "     ....12i    "      "    " 
Nitrogen 17     "      "    " 

Analyses  of  many  of  the  leading  commercial  fertilizers  at  that 
time  showed  that,  when  judged  by  this  standard,  the  price  charged 
was  far  above  their  actual  value.  In  some  cases,  manures  selling 
for  $00  per  ton,  contained  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash, 
worth  only  from  $30  to  $25  per  ton.  And  one  well-known  manure, 
which  sold  for  $28  per  ton,  was  found  to  be  worth  only  $2.33  per 
ton.  A  Bone  Fertilizer  selling  at  $50  per  ton,  was  worth  less  than 
$14  per  ton. 

"  In  1853,"  said  the  Doctor, "  superphosphate  of  lime  was  manu- 
factured by  the  New  Jersey  Zinc  Co.,  and  sold  in  New  York  at 
$50  per  ton  of  2,000  IDS.  At  the  same  time,  superphosphate  of 
lime  made  from  Coprolites,  was  selling  in  England  for  $24  per  ton 
of  2,240  Ibs.  The  late  Prof.  Mapes  commenced  making  ''Im- 
proved Superphosphate  of  Lime,"  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  1852,  and 
Mr.  De  Burg,  the  same  year,  made  a  plain  superphosphate  of  lime 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  The  price,  in  proportion  to  value,  was  high, 
and,  in  fact,  the  same  may  be  said  of  many  of  our  superphos- 
phate manures,  until  within  the  last  few  years. 

Notwithstanding  the  comparatively  high  price,  and  the  uncer- 
tain quality  of  these  commercial  manures,  the  demand  lias  been 
steadily  on  the  increase.  We  have  now  m-iny  honorable  and  in- 


VALUE    OF    FERTILIZERS.  325 

telligent  men  engaged  in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  thess  artifi- 
cial manures,  and  owing  to  more  definite  knowledge  on  the  part 
of  the  manufacturers  and  of  the  purchasers,  it  is  not  a  difficult 
matter  to  find  manures  well  worth  the  money  askecl  for  them. 

"  A  correct  analysis,"  said  I,  "  furnishes  the  only  sure  test  of 
value.  *  Testimonials'  from  farmers  and  others  are  pre-eminently 
unreliable.  With  over  thirty  years'  experience  in  the  use  of  these 
fertilizers,  I  would  place  far  more  confidence  on  a  good  and  reli- 
able analysis  than  on  any  actual  trial  I  could  make  in  the  field. 
Testimonials  to  a  patent  fertilizer  are  about  as  reliable  as  testimo- 
nials to  a  patent-medicine.  In  buying  a  manure,  we  want  to  know 
what  it  contains,  and  the  condition  of  the  constituents." 

In  1377,  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson  gives  the  following  figures,  show- 
ing "  the  trade-values,  or  cost  in  market,  per  pound,  of  the  ordi- 
nary occurring  forms  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  as 
recently  found  in  the  New  York  and  New  England  markets: 

Cents  per  pour.d, 

Nitrogen  in  ammonia  and  nitrates fci 

"        in  Peruvian  Guano,  fine  steamed  bone,  dried  aud 

fine  ground  blood,  meat,  and  fish £0 

in  fine  ground  bone,  horn,  and  wool-dust 15 

"        in  coarse  bone,  horn-shavings,  and  fish-scrap 15 

Phosphoric  acid  soluble  in  water l£s 

"     "  reverted,"  and  in  Peruvian  Guano 9 

"    insoluble,  in  fine  bone  and  fish  jruano 7 

in   coarse    bone,    bone-ash,   and 

bone-black 5 

"  "  "          in  fine  ground  rock  phosphate...    3i 

Potash  in  hio-h-grade  sulphate § 

in  kainit,  as  sulphate ti 

"      in  muriate,  or  potassium  chloride G 

"  These  { estimated  values,'  "  says  Prof.  Johnson,  "  aro  not  fixed, 
but  vary  with  the  state  of  the  market,  and  are  from  time  to  time 
subject  to  revision.  They  are  not  exact  to  the  cent  or  its  fractions, 
because  the  same  article  sells  cheaper  at  commercial  or  manufac- 
turing centers  than  in  country  towns,  cheaper  in  large  lots  than  in 
small,  cheaper  for  cash  than  on  time.  These  values  are  high 
enough  to  do  no  injustice  to  the  dealer,  and  accurate  enough  to 
serve  the  object  of  the  consumer. 

"By  multiplying  the  per  cent  of  Nitrogen,  etc.,  by  the  trade- 
value  per  pound,  and  then  by  20,  we  get  the  value  per  ton  of  the 
several  ingredients,  and  adrling  the  latter  together,  we  obtain  the 
total  estimated  value  per  ton. 

"  The  uses  of  the  '  Valuation '  are,  1st,  to  show  whether  a  given 
lot  or  brand  of  fertilizer  is  worth  as  a  commodity  of  trade  what  it 
costs.  If  the  selling  price  is  no  higher  than  the  estimated  value, 


326  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

the  purchaser  may  be  quite  sure  that  the  price  is  reasonable.  If 
the  selling  price  is  but  $2  to  $3  per  ton  more  than  the  estimated 
value,  it  may  still  be  a  fair  price,  but  if  the  cost  per  ton  is  $5  or 
more  over  the  estimated  value,  it  would  be  well  to  look  further. 
2d,  Comparisons  of  the  estimated  values,  and  selling  prices  of  a 
number  of  fertilizers  will  generally  indicate  fairly  wliich  is  the 
best  for  the  money.  But  the  '  estimated  value '  is  not  to  be  too 
literally  construed,  for  analysis  cannot  always  decide  accurately 
•what  is  the  form  of  nitrogen,  etc.,  while  the  mechanical  condition 
of  a  fertilizer  is  an  item  whose  influence  cannot  always  be  rightly 
expressed  or  appreciated. 

"  The  Agricultural  value  of  a  fertilizer  is  measured  by  the  benefit 
received  from  its  use,  and  depends  upon  its  fertilizing  effect,  or 
crop-producing  power.  As  a  broad  general  rule  it  is  true  that 
Peruvian  guano,  superphosphates,  fish-scraps,  dried  blood,  potash 
salts,  plaster,  etc.,  have  a  high  agricultural  value  which  is  related 
to  their  trade-value,  and  to  a  degree  determines  the  latter  value. 
But  the  rule  has  many  exceptions,  and  in  particular  instances  the 
trade-value  cannot  always  be  expected  to  fix  or  even  to  indicate 
the  agricultural  value.  Fertilizing  effect  depends  largely  upon  soil, 
crop,  and  weather,  and  as  these  vary  from  place  to  place,  and  from 
year  to  year,  it  cannot  be  foretold  or  estimated  except  by  the 
results  of  past  experience,  and  then  only  in  a  general  and  probable 
manner." 

"  It  will  be  seen,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  Prof.  Johnson  places 
a  higher  value  on  potash  now  than  he  did  20  years  ago.  He  re- 
tains the  same  figures  for  soluble  phosphoric  acid,  and  makes  a  very 
just  and  proper  discrimination  between  the  different  values  of  dif- 
ferent forms  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid." 

"The  prices,"  said  I,  "are  full  as  high  as  farmers  can  afford  to 
pay.  But  there  is  not  much  probability  that  we  shall  see  them 
permanently  reduced.  The  tendency  is  in  the  other  direction.  In 
a  public  address  Mr.  J.  B.  Lawes  has  recently  remarked:  'A 
future  generation  of  British  farmers  will  doubtless  hear  with  some 
surprise  that,  at  the  close  of  the  manure  season  of  1876,  there  were 
40,000  tons  of  nitrate  of  soda  in  our  docks,  which  could  not  find 
purchasers,  although  the  price  did  not  exceed  £12  or  £13  per  ton.'  " 

"  He  evidently  thinks,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  available  nitro- 
gen is  cheaper  now  than  it  will  be  in  years  to  come." 

"Nitrate  of  soda,"  said  I,  "  at  the  prices  named,  is  only  2£  to  2| 
cents  per  1\,  and  the  nitrogen  it  contains  would  cost  less  than  18 
cents  per  lb.,  instead  of  24  cents,  as  given  by  Prof.  Johnson." 

"No.  1  Peruvian  Guano,  'guaranteed,'  is  now  sold,"  said  the 


VALUE    OF    FERTILIZERS.  327 

Doctor,  "  at  a  price  per  ton,  to  be  determined  by  its  composition, 
at  the  following  rates : 

Value  per  pound. 

Nitrogen  (ammonia,  17lc. ) ^lic. 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid 10  c. 

Reverted        u  "    8  c. 

Insoluble        "  "    : 2  c. 

Potash,  as  sulphate  and  phosphate 7£c. 

"The  first  cargo  of  Peruvian  guano,  sold  under  this  guarantee, 
contained : 

Value  per  ton. 

Ammonia 6.8  per  cent $28.80 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid..  3.8    "      "   7.60 

Reverted        "  "    ..11.5    "      "   18.40 

Insoluble       «  "    ..  3.0    "      "  1.20 

Potash 3.7    "      " 5.55 

Estimated  retail  price  per  ton  of  2,000  Ibs $56.;;5 

Marked  on  bags  for  sale $50.00 

The  second  cargo,  sold  under  this  guarantee,  contained  : 

Value  per  ton, 

Ammonia 11.5  per  cent $40.50 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid..  5.4    "      "    J0.80 

Reverted        "  "    ..10.0    "      "   16.00 

Insoluble       "  "    ..  1.7    "      "  68 

Potash 2.3    "      " 3.45 

$71.43 
Selling  price  marked  on  bags .-$70.00 

** It  is  interesting,"  said  I,  "to  compare  these  analyses  of  Peru- 
vian guano  of  to-day,  with  Peruvian  guano  brought  to  England 
twenty-nine  or  thirty  years  ago.  I  saw  at  Rothamsted  thirty  years 
ago  a  bag  of  guano  that  contained  22  per  cent  of  ammonia.  And 
farmers  could  then  buy  guano  guaranteed  by  the  dealers  (not  by 
the  agents  of  the  Peruvian  Government),  to  contain  1G  per  cent  of 
ammonia,  and  10  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid.  Price,  £9  5s.  per 
ton  of  2,240  Ibs.— say  $40  per  ton  of  2,000  Ibs. 

The  average  composition  of  thirty-two  cargoes  of  guano  im- 
ported into  England  in  1849  was  as  follows: 

Ammonia 17.41  per  cent. 

Phosphoric  acid 9.75   "      " 

Alkaline  salts 8.75  "      »« 

At  the  present  valuation,  adopted  by  the  Agents  of  the  Peruvian 
guano  in  New  York,  and  estimating  that  5  per  cent  of  the  phos- 
phoric acid  was  soluble,  and  4  per  cent  reverted,  and  that  there 
was  2  Ibs.  of  potash  in  the  alkaline  salts,  this  guano  would  be 
worth : 


328  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

Value  per  ton  of  2,000  Ibs. 

Ammonia 17.41  per  cent $60.93 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid..  500    "      u  10.00 

Reverted        "  "    ..  4.00    "      "  G.40 

Insoluble       "  "    ..      75    "      "  30 

Potash 2.00    "     "  3.00 

$80. 63 
Selling  price  per  ton  of  2,000  Ibs $40.00 

Ichaboe  guano,  which  was  largely  imported  into  England  in 
1844-5,  and  used  extensively  as  a  manure  for  turnips,  contained, 
on  the  average,  74  per  cent  of  ammonia,  and  14  per  cent  of  phos- 
phoric acid.  Its  value  at  the  present  rates  we  may  estimate  as 
follows  : 

Ammonia,  7i  per  cent $26.25 

Soluble  Phosphoric  acid,  4  per  cent 8.00 

Reverted       "  "   10       " 16.00 

$50.25 
Selling  price  per  ton  of  2,000  Ibs $21.80 

The  potash  is  not  given,  or  this  would  probably  add  four  or  five 
dollars  to  its  estimated  value. 

"  All  of  which  goes  to  show,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  the  Peru- 
vian Government  is  asking,  in  proportion  to  value,  from  two  to 
two  an  i  a  half  times  as  much  for  guano  as  was  charged  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years  ago.  That  first  cargo  of  guano,  sold  in  New 
York  under  the  new  guarantee,  in  1877,  for  $56  per  ton,  is  worth 
no  more  than  the  Ichaboe  guano  sold  in  England  in  1845,  for  less 
than  $22  per  ton  ! 

"  And  furthermore,"  continued  the  Deacon,  "  from  all  that  I  can 
learn,  the  guano  of  the  present  day  is  not  only  far  poorer  in  nitro- 
gen than  it  was  formerly,  but  the  nitrogen  is  not  as  soluble,  and 
consequently  not  so  valuable,  pound  for  pound.  Much  of  the 
guano  of  the  present  day  bears  about  the  same  relation  to  genuine 
olcl-fashioned  guano,  as  leached  ashes  do  to  unleached,  or  as  a  ton 
of  manure  that  has  been  leached  in  the  barn-yard  does  to  a  ton 
that  has  been  kept  under  cover." 

"True,  to  a  certain  extent,"  said  the  Doctor,  "but  you  must 
recollect  that  this  *  guaranteed '  guano  is  now  sold  by  analysis. 
You  pay  for  what  you  get  and  no  more." 

"  Exactly,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but  what  you  get  is  not  so  good. 
A  pound  of  nitrogen  in  the  leached  guano  is  not  as  available  or  as 
valuable  as  a  pound  of  nitrogen  in  toe  unleached  guano.  An  this 
fact  ought  to  be  understood." 

"One  thing,"  said  I,  "seems  clear.  The  Peruvian  Government 
is  charging  a  considerably  higher  price  for  guano,  in  proportion 
to  its  actual  value,  than  was  charged  20  or  25  years  ago.  It  may 


VALUE    OF    FERTILIZERS.  329 

be,  that  the  g«ano  is  still  the  cheapest  manure  in  the  market,  but 
at  any  rate  the  price  is  higher  than  formerly — while  there  has  been 
no  corresponding  advance  in  the  price  of  produce  in  the  markets 
of  the  world." 

POTASH    AS    A    MANURE. 

On  land  where  fish,  fish-scrap,  or  guano,  has  been  used  free, 
for  some  years,  and  the  crops  exported  from  the  farm,  we  may  ex- 
pect a  relative  deficiency  of  potash  in  the  soil.     In  such  a  case,  an 
application  of  unieached  ashes  or  potash-salts  will  be  likely  to 
produce  a  decided  benefit. 

Clay  or  loamy  land  is  usually  richer  in  potash  than  soils  of  a 
more  sandy  or  gravelly  character.  And  on  poor  sandy  land,  the 
use  of  fish  or  of  guano,  if  the  crops  are  all  sold,  will  be  soon  likely 
to  prove  of  little  benefit  owing  to  a  deficiency  of  potash  in  the  soil. 
They  may  produce  good  crops  for  a  few  years,  but  the  larger  the 
crops  produced  and  sold,  the  more  would  the  soil  become  deficient 
in  potash. 

We  have  given  the  particulars  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  experi- 
ments on  barley.  Mr.  Lawcs  at  a  late  meeting  in  London,  stated 
that  "  he  had  grown  25  crops  of  barley  one  after  the  other  with 
nitrogen,  either  as  ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda,  but  without 
potash,  and  that  by  the  use  of  potash  they  had  produced  practically 
no  better  result.  This  year  (1877),  for  the  first  time,  the  potash 
had  failed  a  little,  and  they  had  now  produced  10  or  12  bushels 
more  per  acre  with  potash  than  without,  showing  that  they  were 
coming  to  the  end  of  the  available  potash  in  the  soil.  This  year 
(1877),  they  obtained  54  bushels  of  barley  with  potash,  and  43 
bushels  without  it.  Of  course,  this  was  to  be  expected,  and  they 
had  expected  it  much  sooner.  The  same  with  wheat ;  he  expected 
the  end  would  come  in  a  few  years,  but  they  had  now  gone  on  be- 
tween 30  and  40  years.  When  the  end  came  they  would  not  be 
sony,  because  then  they  would  have  the  knowledge  they  wero 
seeking  for." 

Dr.  Yoelcker,  at  the  same  meeting  remarked  :  "  Many  soils  con- 
tained from  1-J  to  2  per  cent  of  available  potash,  and  a  still  larger 
quantity  locked  up,  in  the  shape  of  minerals,  which  only  gradually 
came  into  play;  but  the  quantity  of  potash  carried  off  in  crops 
did  not  exceed  2  cwt.  per  acre,  if  so  much.  Now  0.1  per  cent  of 
any  constituent,  calculated  on  a  depth  of  six  inches,  was  equiva- 
lent to  one  ton  per  acre.  Therefore,  if  a  soil  contained  only  0.1 
per  cent  of  potash,  a  ton  of  potash  might  be  carried  off  from  a 


330  TALKS    Cfa    MANURES. 

depth  of  6  inches.  But  you  had  not  only  0.1  per  cent,  but  some- 
thing like  1£  per  cent  and  upwards  in  many  soils.  It  is  quite  true 
there  were  many  soils  from  which  you  could  not  continuously 
take  crops  without  restoring  the  potash." 

"  In  all  of  which,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  there  is  nothing  new.  It 
does  not  help  us  to  determine  whether  potash  is  or  is  not  deficient 
in  our  soil." 

"  That,"  said  I,  "  can  be  ascertained  only  by  actual  experiment. 
Put  a  little  hen-manure  on  a  row  of  corn,  and  on  another  row  a 
little  hen-manure  and  ashes,  and  on  another  row,  ashes  alone,  and 
leave  one  row  without  anything.  On  my  farm  I  am  satisfied  that 
we  need  not  buy  potash-salts  for  manure.  I  do  not  say  they  would 
do  no  good,  for  they  may  do  good  on  land  not  deficient  in  availa- 
ble potash,  just  as  lime  will  do  good  on  land  containing  large 
quantities  of  lime.  But  potash  is  not  what  my  land  needs  to  make 
it  produce  maximum  crops.  It  needs  available  nitrogen,  and 
possibly  soluble  phosphoric  acid." 

The  system  of  farming  adopted  in  this  section,  is  much  more 
likely  to  impoverish  the  soil  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  than 
of  potash. 

If  a  soil  is  deficient  in  potash,  the  crop  which  will  first  indicate 
the  deficiencjr,  will  probably  be  clover,  or  beans.  Farmers  who  can 
grow  large  crops  of  red-clover,  need  not  buy  potash  for  manure. 

On  farms  where  grain  is  largely  raised  and  sold,  and  where  the 
straw,  and  corn-stalks,  and  hay,  and  the  hay  from  clover-seed  are 
retained  on  the  farm,  and  this  strawy  manure  returned  to  the  land, 
the  soil  will  become  poor  from  the  lack  of  nitrogen  and  phos- 
phoric acid  long  before  there  would  be  any  need  of  an  artificial 
supply  of  potash. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  farmers  should  use  fish,  or  guano,  or 
superphosphate,  or  nitrate  of  soda,  and  sell  all  the  hay,  and  straw, 
and  potatoes,  and  root-crops,  they  could  raise,  many  of  our  sandy 
soils  would  soon  become  poor  in  available  potash.  But  even  in 
this  case  the  clover  and  beans  would  show  the  deficiency  sooner 
than  wheat  or  even  potatoes. 

"  And  yet  we  are  told,"  said  the  Deacon, "  that  potatoes  contain 
no  end  of  potash." 

"And  the  same  is  true,"  said  I,  "  of  root-crops,  such  as  mangel- 
wurzel,  turnips,  etc.,  but  the  fact  has  no  other  significance  than 
this:  If  you  grow  potatoes  for  many  years  on  the  same  land  and 
manure  them  with  nitrogenous  manures,  the  soil  is  likely  to  be 
gpeedily  impoverished  of  potash." 

"  But  suppose,"  said  the  Deacon,  u  that  you  grow  potatoes  on  the 


VALUE    OF    FERTILIZERS.  331 

same  land  without  manure  of  any  kind,  would  not  the  soil  become 
equally  poor  in  potash  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  because  you  would,  in  such  a  case,  get  very 
small  crops — small,  not  from  lack  of  potash,  but  from  lack  of  nitro- 
gen. If  I  had  land  which  had  grown  corn,  potatoes,  wheat,  oats, 
and  hay,  for  many  years  without  manure,  or  an  occasional  dress- 
ing of  our  common  barnyard-manure,  and  wanted  it  to  produce  a 
•good  crop  of  potatoes,  I  should  net  expect  to  get  it  by  simply 
applying  potash.  The  soil  might  be  poor  in  potash,  but  it  is 
almost  certain  to  be  still  poorer  in  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid. 

Land  that  has  been  manured  with  farm  yard  or  stable  manure 
for  years,  no  matter  how  it  has  been  cropped,  is  not  likely  to  need 
potash.  The  manure  is  richer  in  potash  than  in  nitrogen  and 
phosphoric  acid.  And  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  soil. 

If  a  farmer  uses  nitrogenous  and  phosphatic  manures  on  his 
clayey  or  loamy  land  that  is  usually  relatively  rich  in  potash,  and 
will  apply  his  common  manure  to  the  sandy  parts  of  the  farm^  tie 
will  rarely  need  to  purchase  manures  containing  potash. 


332  TALKS   ON   MA.NUEES. 

CHAPTEE    XL. 
RESTORING    FERTILITY    TO    THE    SOIL. 

BY  SIR  J.    B.   LAWES,  BART.,  LL.D.,   F.K.S.,   ROTHAMSTED,   ENG. 

A  relation  of  mine,  who  already  possessed  a  very  consider- 
able estate,  consisting  of  light  land,  about  twenty  years  ago 
purchased  a  large  property  adjoining  it  at  a  very  high  price. 
These  were  days  when  farmers  were  nourishing,  and  they  no 
more  anticipated  what  was  in  store  for  them  in  the  future, 
than  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  in  the  days  of  Noah. 

Times  have  changed  since  then,  and  bad  seasons,  low  prices 
of  wheat,  and  cattle-disease,  have  swept  off  the  tenants  from 
these  two  estates,  so  that  my  relation  finds  himself  now  in  the 
position  of  being  the  unhappy  owner  and  occupier  of  five  or 
six  farms,  extending  over  several  thousand  acres — one  farm 
alone  occupying  an  area  of  two  thousand  four  hundred  acres. 
Fortunately  for  the  owner,  he  possesses  town  property  in  addi- 
tion to  his  landed  estates,  so  that  the  question  with  him  is  not, 
as  it  is  with  many  land  owners,  how  to  find  the  necessary  capi- 
tal to  cultivate  the  land,  but,  having  found  the  capital,  how  to 
expend  it  in  farming,  so  as  to  produce  a  proper  return. 

It  is  not  very  surprising  that,  under  these  circumstances,  my 
opinion  should  have  been  asked.  What,  indeed,  would  have 
been  the  use  of  a  relation,  who  not  only  spent  all  his  time  in 
agricultural  experiments,  but  also  pretended  to  teach  our 
neighbors  how  to  farm  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  if  he 
could  not  bring  his  science  to  bear  on  the  land  of  an  adjoining 
county  !  Here  is  the  land — my  relation  might  naturally  say — 
here  is  the  money,  and  I  have  so  much  confidence  in  your 
capacity  that  I  will  give  you  carte-blanche  to  spend  as  much  as 
you  please — what  am  I  to  do  ? 

An  inspection  of  the  property  brought  out  the  following  facts 
—that  all  the  land  was  very  light,  and  that  you  might  walk 
over  the  fresh  plowed  surface  in  the  wettest  weather  without 
any  clay  sticking  to  your  boots  :  still  a  portion  of  the  soil  was 
dark  in  color,  and  therefore  probably  contained  a  sufficient 
amount  of  fertility  to  make  cultivation  profitable,  provided  the 
management  could  be  conducted  with  that  care  and  economy 
which  arc  absolute  essentials  in  a  business  where  the  expendi- 
ture is  always  pressing  closely  upon  the  income. 


RESTORING   FERTILITY  TO   THE   SOIL.  333 

Upon  land  of  this  description  meat-making  is  the  backbone 
of  the  system,  which  must  be  adopted,  and  a  large  breeding 
flock  of  sheep  the  first  essential  towards  success. 

Science  can  make  very  little  improvement  upon  the  four- 
course  rotation — roots,  barley,  clover,  and  wheat,  unless,  per- 
haps, it  may  be  by  keeping  the  land  in  clover,  or  mixed  grass 
and  clover,  for  two  or  three  years. 

A  good  deal  of  the  land  I  was  inspecting  was  so  light,  that,  in 
fact,  it  was  hardly  more  than  sand,  and  for  some  years  it  had  been 
left  to  grow  anything  that  came  up,  undisturbed  by  the  plow. 

To  a  practised  eye,  the  character  of  the  natural  vegetation  is 
a  sure  indication  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Where  herds  of 
buffaloes  are  to  be  seen — their  sides  shaking  with  fat — it  is 
quite  evident  that  the  pastures  upon  which  they  feed  cannot 
be  very  bad  ;  and  in  the  same  way,  where  a  rank  growth  of 
weeds  is  found  springing  up  upon  land  that  has  been  abandon- 
ed, it  may  be  taken  for  certain  that  the  elements  of  food  exist 
in  the  soil.  This  ground  was  covered  with  vegetation,  but  of 
the  most  impoverished  description,  even  the  "Quack"  or 
"  Couch-grass"  could  not  form  a  regular  carpet,  but  grew  in 
small,  detached  bunches  j  everything,  in  fact,  bore  evidence  of 
poverty. 

Possibly,  the  first  idea  which  might  occur  to  any  one,  on 
seeing  land  in  this  state,  might  be  :  Why  not  grow  the  crops  by 
the  aid  of  artificial  manures  ? 

Let  us  look  at  the  question  from  two  points  of  view  :  first,  in 
regard  to  the  cost  of  the  ingredients ;  and,  secondly,  in  regard 
to  the  growth  of  the  crop. 

We  will  begin  with  wheat.  A  crop  of  wheat,  machine-reap- 
ed, contains,  as  carted  to  the  stack,  about  six  pounds  of  soil  in- 
gredients in  every  one  hundred  pounds ;  that  is  to  say,  each 
five  pounds  of  mineral  matter,  and  rather  less  than  one  pound 
of  nitrogen,  which  the  plant  takes  from  the  soil,  will  enable  it 
to  obtain  ninety-four  pounds  of  other  substances  from  the  at- 
mosphere. To  grow  a  crop  of  twenty  bushels  of  gram  and 
two  thousand  pounds  of  straw,  would  require  one  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds  of  minerals,  and  about  thirty-two  pounds  of  nitro- 
gen ;  of  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  of  minerals,  one- 
half  would  be  silica,  of  which  the  soil  possesses  already  more 
than  enough  ;  the  remainder,  consisting  of  about  eighty  pounds 
of  potash  and  phosphate,  could  be  furnished  for  from  three 
to  four  dollars,  and  the  thirty-two  pounds  of  nitrogen  could 
be  purchased  in  nitrate  of  soda  for  six  or  eight  dollars. 


334  TALKS   ON    MANURES. 

The  actual  cost  of  the  ingredients,  therefore,  in  the  crop  of 
twenty  bushels  of  wheat,  would  be  about  ten  to  twelve  dollars. 
But  as  this  manure  would  furnish  the  ingredients  for  the 
growth  of  both  straw  and  grain,  and  it  is  customary  to  return 
the  straw  to  the  land,  after  the  first  crop,  fully  one-third  of  the 
cost  of  the  manure  might,  in  consequence,  be  deducted,  which 
would  make  the  ingredients  of  the  twenty  bushels  amount  to 
six  dollars.  Twenty  bushels  of  wheat  in  England  would  sell 
for  twenty-eight  dollars  ;  therefore,  there  would  be  twenty-two 
dollars  left  for  the  cost  of  cultivation  and  profit. 

A  French  writer  on  scientific  agriculture  has  employed 
figures  very  similar  to  the  above,  to  show  how  French  farmers 
may  grow  wheat  at  less  than  one  dollar  per  bushel.  At  this 
price  they  might  certainly  defy  the  competition  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  one  thing,  however,  to  grow  crops  in  a  lecture 
room,  and  quite  another  to  grow  them  in  a  field.  In  dealing 
with  artificial  manures,  furnishing  phosphoric  acid,  potash, 
and  nitrogen,  we  have  substances  which  act  upon  the  soil  in 
very  differents  ways.  Phosphate  of  lime  is  a  very  insoluble 
substance,  and  requires  an  enormous  amount  of  water  to  dis- 
solve it.  Salts  of  potash,  on  the  other  hand,  are  very  soluble  in 
water,  but  form  very  insoluble  compounds  with  the  soil.  Salts 
of  ammonia  and  nitrate  of  soda  are  perfectly  soluble  in  water. 
When  applied  to  the  land,  the  ammonia  of  the  former  sub' 
stance  forms  an  insoluble  compound  with  the  soil,  but  in  a  very 
short  time  is  converted  into  nitrate  of  lime  ;  and  with  this  salt 
and  nitrate  of  soda,  remains  in  solution  in  the  soil  water  until 
they  are  either  taken  up  by  the  plant  or  are  washed  away  into 
the  drains  or  rivers. 

Crops  evaporate  a  very  large  amount  of  water,  and  with  this 
water  they  attract  the  soluble  nitrate  from  all  parts  of  the  soil. 
Very  favorable  seasons  are  therefore  those  in  which  the  soil  is 
neither  too  dry  nor  too  wet;  as  in  one  case  the  solution  of 
nitrate  becomes  dried  up  in  the  soil,  in  the  other  it  is  either 
washed  away,  or  the  soil  remains  so  wet  that  the  plant  cannot 
evaporate  the  water  sufficiently  to  draw  up  the  nitrates  which 
it  contains. 

The  amount  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  dissolved  in  the 
water  is  far  too  small  to  supply  the  requirements  of  the  plant, 
and  it  ia  probable  that  what  is  required  for  this  purpose  is  dis- 
solved by  some  direct  action  of  the  roots  of  the  plant  on  com- 
ing in  contact  with  the  Insoluble  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  i-a 
the  soil. 


RESTORING   FERTILITY   TO   THE   SOIL.  335 

In  support  of  this  view,  I  may  mention  that  we  have  clear 
evidence  in  some  of  our  experiments  of  the  wheat  crop  taking 
up  both  phosphates  and  potash  that  were  applied  to  the  land 
thirty  years  ago. 

To  suppose,  therefore,  that,  if  the  ingredients  which  exist  in 
twenty  bushels  of  wheat  and  its  straw,  are  simply  applied  to  a 
barren  soil,  the  crop  will  be  able  to  come  in  contact  with,  and 
take  up  these  substances,  is  to  assume  what  certainly  will  not 
take  place. 

I  have  often  expressed  an  opinion  that  arable  land,  could  Dot 
be  cultivated  profitably  by  means  of  artificial  manures,  unless 
the  soil  was  capable  of  producing,  from  its  own  resources,  a 
considerable  amount  of  produce  ;  still  the  question  had  never 
up  to  this  time  come  before  me  in  a  distinct  form  as  one  upon 
which  I  had  to  decide  one  way  or  the  other.  I  had,  however, 
no  hesitation  in  coming  to  the  conclusion,  that  grain  crops  could 
never  be  grown  at  a  profit  upon  my  relation's  land,  and  that 
consequently,  for  some  years,  it  would  be  better  to  give  up  the 
attempt,  and  try  to  improve  the  pasture. 

After  what  I  have  said  about  the  insolubility  of  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid,  it  may  possibly  be  asked— why  not  give  a  good 
dose  of  these  substances  at  once,  as  they  do  not  wash  out  of 
the  soil— say  enough  to  grow  sixty  crops  of  grain,  and  apply 
the  nitrate,  or  ammonia  every  year  in  just  sufficient  amounts 
to  supply  the  wants  of  the  crop  ? 

The  objections  to  this  plan  are  as  fellows:  assuming  the  most 
favorable  conditions  of  climate,  and  the  largest  possible  pro- 
duce, the  wheat  could  certainly  not  take  up  the  whole  of  the 
thirty-two  pounds  of  nitrogen  applied,  and  the  crop  which  re- 
quires nearly  one  pound  of  nitrogen  in  eveiy  one  hundred 
pounds  of  gross  produce,  would  be  certainly  less  than  three 
thousand  two  hundred  pounds,  if  supplied  with  only  thirty-two 
pounds  of  nitrogen.  If  we  take  the  total  produce  of  the  best 
and  worst  wheat  crop,  grown  during  the  forty  years  of  our  ex- 
periments, we  shall  arrive  at  a  better  understanding  in  the 
matter.  The  following  are  the  figures  : 

WEIGHT  OF  DRY  PRODUCE  OF  WHEAT  PER  ACRE. 

Straw  and  Grain. 

1863  ---- 9330  Ibs. 

1879 3859     " 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  increase  due  to  the  nitrogen  of  the 
salts  of  ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda,  we  must  deduct  from  the 


336  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

crop  the  produce  obtained,  wliera  mineral  manures  without 
nitrogen  were  used.  In  1853  this  amount  was  three  thousand 
pounds,  and  in  1879  it  was  ons  thousand  two  hu.idred  pounds. 
Deducting  thsse  amounts  from  the  gross  produce  in  each  cass, 
leaves  si^:  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty  as  the  produce 
due  to  the  nitrogen  in  the  season  of  1833,  and  two  thousand  six 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  as  the  produce  due  to  the  nitrogen  in 
1879. 

But  in  each  case  we  applied  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen, 
eighty-seven  pounds  ;  and  as  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  a  wheat 
crop,  as  carted  from  the  field ,  contains  less  than  one  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen,  it  is  evident  that  if  all  that  was  contained  in  the 
manure  had  been  taken  up  by  the  plant,  the  increased  crop 
should  have  weighed  ei^lib  thousand  seven  hundred  pounds  in- 
stead of  six  thousand  thi\33  hundred  and  thirty.  Thus  even  in 
our  best  year,  some  of  tho  nitrogen  applied  failed  to  produce 
growth  ;  and  when  we  come  to  the  bad  year  we  find  that  only 
twenty-six  and  a  halt'  pounds  were  taken  up  out  of  the  eighty- 
seven  pounds  applied,  thus  leaving  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
whole  unaccounted  for. 

Seasons  are  only  occasionally  either  very  bad  or  very  good. 
What  we  call  an  average  season  does  not  differ  very  much  from 
the  mean  of  the  best  and  worst  years,  which  in  this  caia 
would  be  represented  by  a  crop  of  four  thousand  four  hundred 
and  ninety-four  pounds,  containing  nearly  forty-five  pounds  of 
nitrogen.  I  may  say  that,  although  I  have  employed  one  per 
cent,  to  avoid  fractions  in  my  calculations,  strictly  speaking 
three-quarters  of  a  per  cent,  would  more  nearly  represent  the 
real  quantity.  If,  however,  on  the  average,  we  only  obtain 
about  forty-five  pounds  from  an  application  of  about  eighty- 
seven  pounds  of  nitrogen,  it  is  evidant  that  not  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  amount  applied  enters  into  the  crop. 

Now  in  dealing  with  a  substance  of  so  costly  a  nature  as  am- 
monia, or  nitrate  of  soda — the  nitrogen  contained  in  which 
substances  cannot  cost  much  less  than  twenoy-five  cents  per 
pound  by  the  time  it  is  spread  upon  the  land,  it  becomes  a  ques- 
tion of  importance  to  know  what  becomes  of  the  other  half, 
or  the  residue  whatever  it  may  be,  which  has  not  been  taken 
up  by  the  crop.  Part  is  undoubtedly  taken  up  by  the  weeds 
which  grow  with  the  wheat,  and  after  the  wheat  has  been 
cut.  Part  sinks  into  the  sub-soil  and  is  washed  completely 
away  during  the  winter. 

I,  myself,  am  disposed  to  think  that  the  very  great  difference 


BESTORING   FERTILITY  TO   THE   SOIL.  337 

in  the  size  of  the  Indian  corn  crops,  as  compared  with  the 
wheat  crops  in  the  States,  is  partly  accounted  for  by  their 
greater  freedom  from  weeds,  which  are  large  consumers  of 
nitric  acid,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  wheat  crop,  frequently  re- 
duce the  yield  by  several  bushels  per  acre.  It  must,  however, 
be  borne  in  mind  that,  though  the  wheat  is  robbed  of  its  food 
where  there  are  weeds,  still  if  there  were  no  weeds,  the  amount 
of  nitric  acid  which  the  crop  could  not  get  hold  of,  would,  in 
all  probabilty,  be  washed  out  of  the  soil  during  the  ensuing 
winter.  I  come  to  the  conclusion,  therefore,  that  the  nitro- 
gen alone,  which  would  be  required  to  produce  one  bushel  of 
wheat,  would  cost  not  much  less  than  fifty  cents  ;  and  that,  in 
consequence,  wheat-growing  by  means  of  artificial  manures, 
will  not  pay  upon  very  poor  land. 

I  have  said  that  the  land,  about  which  I  was  consulted,  had 
not  been  plowed  for  several  years,  and  that  although  nature 
had  done  all  she  could  to  clothe  the  soil  with  vegetation,  the 
most  disheartening  feature  in  the  case  was,  the  poverty  of  the 
weeds.  A  thistle  may  be  a  giant  or  a  dwarf,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances ;  here  they  were  all  dwarfs.  The  plaintain,  which 
I  believe  is  sometimes  sown  in  these  districts  for. food,  has  a 
very  deep  root ;  here  the  plants  were  abundant,  but  the  leaves 
were  very  small  and  lay  so  close  to  the  ground,  that,  as  the 
manager  informed  me,  "  the  sheep  were  often  injured  from  the 
amount  of  sand  which  they  swallowed  with  the  leaves  when 
feeding." 

At  Rothamsted,  the  analyses  of  the  rain  water  passing 
through  the  ordinary  soil  of  one  of  my  fields,  which  has  been 
kept  free  from  vegetation,  have  shown  that  the  amount  of 
nitric  acid  liberated  in  a  soil,  and  washed  ou^  each  year,  is  very 
large.  Taking  the  ten  years  during  which  these  special  experi- 
ments have  been  in  progress,  I  should  think  that  the  loss  of 
nitrogen  would  be  equal  to,  or  possibly  exceed,  the  amount  of 
that  substance  removed  by  the  average  crops  grown  in  the 
United  States. 

The  results  obtained  by  the  rain  gauges,  are  further  com- 
pletely confirmed  by  those  in  an  adjoining  field,  where  wheat 
and  fallow  have  been  grown  alternately  for  twenty-seven  years. 
The  liberation  of  nitric  acid,  during  the  year  of  rest,  produced 
for  a  time  a  large  growth  of  wheat,  but  it  was  done  at  a  very 
great  waste  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  ihe  produce  is  now, 
in  proportion,  considerably  lower  than  ihafc  growD  ou  the  con- 
tinuously unman  ured  land. 
15 


338  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

These  results,  if  they  are  to  be  accepted  as  correct,  must 
bring  about  a  very  considerable  change  in  the  generally  re- 
ceived views  in  regard  to  fertility.  We  not  only  see  more  clearly 
the  connection  between  a  former  vegetation  and  the  stored  up 
fertility  in  our  soil,  but  we  also  see  the  importance  of  vegeta- 
tion at  the  present  day,  as  the  only  means  by  which  the  loss  of 
nitric  acid  is  prevented.  The  more  completely  the  land  is  cov- 
ered with  vegetation,  and  the  more  growth  there  is,  the  greater 
will  ba  the  evaporation  of  water,  and  the  less  will  be  the  loss  of 
nitric  acid  by  drainage. 

I  was  not  at  all  surprised  to  find,  that  the  surface  soil  of  a 
wood  on  my  farm,  was  poorer  in  nitrogen  than  the  soil  of  an 
old  permanent  pasture,  to  which  no  manure  had  been  applied 
for  twenty-five  years,  though  during  the  whole  period,  the  crop 
of  hay  had  been  removed  every  year  from  the  land.  The  wood 
to  which  I  refer  is  covered  with  oak,  centuries  old,  and  the 
foliage  is  so  dense  that  but  little  underwood  or  other  vegetation 
can  grow  beneath  it.  If  both  the  wood  and  the  pasture  were 
put  into  arable  cultivation,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  pasture 
would  prove  much  more  fertile  than  the  wood  land. 

In  our  experiments  on  permanent  pasture,  it  has  been  ob- 
served that  the  character  of  the  herbage  is  mainly  dependent  on 
the  food  supplied.  Weeds,  and  inferior  grasses,  can  hold  their 
own  as  long  as  poverty  exists,  but  with  a  liberal  supply  of  ma- 
nure, the  superior  grasses  overgrow  and  drive  out  the  bad 
grasses  and  weeds.  In  consequence  of  the  low  price  of  wheat 
a  good  deal  of  land  in  England  has  bsen  laid  down  to  perma- 
nent pasture,  and  much  money  has  been  spent  in  cleaning  the 
land  preparatory  to  sowing  the  grass-seeds.  I  have  on  more 
occasions  than  one,  suggested  that  the  money  employed  in  this 
process  would  be  better  expended  in  manure,  by  which  the 
weeds  would  be  "  improved  "  off  the  face  of  the  land.  While 
walking  over  the  abandoned  portion  of  these  estates  I  explained 
my  views  upon  this  point  to  the  manager.  They  were,  how- 
ever, received  with  the  usual  skepticism,  and  the  rejoinder  that 
"  there  was  only  one  way  of  getting  rid  of  the  weeds,  which 
was  by  the  plow  and  fire." 

There  is  nothing  that  speaks  to  me  so  forcibly  as  color  in 
vegetation  ;  when  travelling  by  rail,  I  do  not  require  to  be  told 
that  such  a  farm  is,  or  is  not,  in  high  condition,  or  that  we  are 
passing  through  a  fertile  or  infertile  district.  There  is  a  pecu- 
liar green  color  in  vegetation  which  is  an  unmistakable  sign 
that  it  is  living  upon  the  fat  of  the  land.  I  need  hardly  say 


RESTORING   FERTILITY   TO   THE   SOIL.  339 

that,  in  this  case,  the  color  of  the  vegetation  gave  unmistakable 
signs  of  the  poverty  of  the  soil ;  but  in  the  midst  of  the  dingy 
yellowish-green  of  the  herbage,  I  came  upon  one  square  of 
bright  green  grass.  In  answer  to  my  enquiry  I  was  told  that, 
a  "  lambing-f old  had  baen  there  last  year,"  and  my  informant 
added  his  opinion,  "  that  the  manure  would  be  so  strong  that 
it  would  kill  anything  !"  It  had  certainly  killed  the  weeds,  but 
in  their  place,  some  good  grasses  had  taken  possession  of  the 
soil. 

The  plan  I  proposed  to  adopt  was,  to  spend  no  more  money 
on  tillage  operations,  but  to  endeavor  to  improve  the  pasture  by 
giving  to  it  the  food  necessary  to  grow  good  grasses,  sowing  at 
the  same  time  a  small  quantity  of  the  best  seeds.  I  further 
suggested  that  a  flock  of  sheep  should  be  allowed  to  run  over 
the  whole  of  the  land  by  day,  and  be  folded  there  every  night 
— about  one  pound  of  cotton-seed  cake  per  head  being  allowed 
daily.  By  this  means,  as  the  fold  would  be  moved  every  day, 
the  amount  of  manure  deposited  on  the  soil  could  be 
estimated. 

If  there  were  a  hundred  sheep,  receiving  one  pound  of  de- 
corticated cotton- seed  cake  per  head,  daily,  and  the  hurdles 
were  arranged  to  enclose  a  space  of  twenty-five  by  twenty  yards, 
in  the  course  of  ^ten  days  an  acre  of  land  would  have  received 
manure  from  one  thousand  pounds  of  cake  ;  which  amount 
would  supply  seventy-seven  pounds  of  nitrogen,  sixty-eight 
pounds  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  thirty-two  pounds  of  potash. 
This  amount  of  cake  would  cost  about  sixteen  dollars. 

As  regards  the  value  of  the  cake  as  a  food,  it  is 
somewhat  difficult  to  form  an  estimate  ;  but  it  takes  nine  or 
ten  pounds  of  dry  food — say  roots,  cake,  and  hay — to  produce 
an  increase  of  one  pound  of  live  weight  in  sheep.  The  cake 
has  certainly  a  higher  feeding  value,  than  either  hay  or  roots, 
but  I  will  here  give  it  only  the  same  value,  and  consider  that 
one  hundred  and  ten  pounds  of  increase  of  the  animal  was  ob- 
tained by  the  consumption  of  the  one  thousand  pounds  of  cake. 
The  value  of  the  increase  of  the  live  weight  would  be  in  Eng- 
land fully  eleven  dollars,  leaving  five  dollars  as  the  cost  of  the 
manure.  Now  the  cake  furnished  seventy -seven  pounds  of 
nitrogen  alone,  which,  if  purchased  in  an  artificial  manure, 
would  have  cost  nineteen  dollars ;  and  the  other  substances 
supplied  by  the  cake,  would  have  cost  from  four  to  five  dollars 
more.  The  manures  required,  therefore,  would  be  obtained 
much  more  cheaply  by  this  than  by  any  other  process. 


340  TALKS   OX   MANURES. 

Labor  would  be  saved  by  not  cultivating  the  land.  Manure 
would  be  saved  by  substituting  vegetation  waicli  grows  under 
or  above  ground,  almost  all  th 3  yeat- roand.  And,  by  feeding 
the  Suock  with  cake,  tiu  necessary  fertility  would  be  obtained 
at  the  lowest  possible  cost. 

It  is  probable  that  the  land  would  require  this  treatment  to 
be  rep3afced  for  several  >ears,  before  there  would  be  a  fair 
growth  of  gr  ss.  The  land  might  then  bo  broken  up  and  one 
grain  crop  be  taken,  then  it  might  again  be  laid  down  to  grass. 

Hitherto,  I  have  considered  a  case  where  fertility  is  almost 
absent  from  the  land,  this,  however,  is  an  exception,  as  agri- 
culture generally  is  carried  on  upon  soils  which  contain  largo 
stores  of  fertility,  though  they  may  be  very  unequally  distribu- 
ted. By  analysis  of  the  soil  we  can  measure  the  total  amount 
of  fertility  which  it  contains,  but  we  are  left  hi  ignorance  in  re- 
gard to  the  amount  of  the  ingredients  whicli  are  in  such  a  form 
that  the  crops  we  cultivate  can  make  use  of  them. 

At  Rothamsbed,  among  my  experiments  on  the  growth  of  cou- 
tinuous  wheat,  at  the  end  of  forty  years,  the  soil  supplied  with 
salts  of  ammonia  has  yielded,  during  the  whole  time,  and  still 
continues  to  yield,  a  larger  produce  than  is  obtained  by  a  liberal 
supply  of  phosphates  and  alkaline  salts  without  ammonia. 

When  we  consider  that  every  one  hundred  pounds  of  wheat 
crop,  as  carted  to  the  stack,  contains  about  five  per  cent,  of 
mineral  matter,  and  one  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  it  is  impossible 
to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  my  soil  has  a  large  available  bal- 
ance; of  mineral  substances  which  the  crop  could  not  make  uso 
of  for  want  of  nitrogen.  The  crop  which  has  received  these 
mineral  manures  now  amounts  to  from  twelve  to  thirteen 
bushels  per  acre,  and  removes  from  the  land  about  sixteen 
pounds  of  nitrogen  every  year. 

Analyses  of  the  soil  show  that,  even  aftar  the  removal  of 
more  than  thirty  crops  in  succession,  without  any  application 
of  manure  containing  ammonia,  the  soil  still  contains  some 
thousands  of  pounds  of  nitrogen.  This  nitrogen  is  in  combina- 
iio_i  with  carbon  ;  it  is  very  insoluble  in  water,  and  until  it  be- 
c  olios  separated  from  the  carbon,  and  enters  into  combination 
with  oxygen,  does  not  appear  to  be  of  any  use  to  the  crop. 

The  combination  of  nitrogen  with  oxyg:n,  is  known  as  ni- 
tric acid.  The  nitric  acid  enters  into  combination  with  the 
lime  of  the  soil,  and  in  this  form  becomes  the  food  of  plants. 

From  its  great  importance  in  regard  to  the  growth  of  plants, 
nitric  a3id  might  be  called  the  main  spring  of  agriculture,  but 


EESTOEING   FERTILITY   TO   THE   SOIL.  341 

being  perfectly  soluble  in  water,  it  is  constantly  liable  to  be 
washed  out  of  the  soil.  In  the  experiment  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred above — where  wheat  is  grown  by  mineral  manures  alono 
— we  estimate  that,  of  the  amount  of  nitric  acid  liberated  er.ch 
year,  not  much  more  than  one-half  is  taken  up  by  the  crop. 

The  wheat  is  ripe  in  July,  at  which  time  the  land  is  tolerably 
free  from  weeds ;  several  months,  therefore,  occur  during 
which  there  is  no  vegetation  to  take  up  the  nitric  acid ;  and 
even  when  the  wheat  is  sown  at  the  en:l  of  October,  much  ni- 
tric acid  is  liable  to  be  washed  away,  as  the  power  of  the  plant 
to  take  up  food  from  the  soil  is  very  limited  until  the  spring. 

The  formation  of  nitric  acid,  from  the  organic  nitrogen  in  the 
soil,  is  due  to  the  action  of  a  minute  plant,  and  goes  on  quite 
independent  of  the  growth  of  our  crops.  We  get,  however,  in 
the  fact  an  explanation  of  the  extremely  different  results  ob- 
tained by  the  use  of  different  manures.  One  farmer  applies  lime, 
or  even  ground  limestone  to  a  soil,  and  obtains  an  increase  in 
his  crops  ;  probably  he  has  supplied  the  very  substance  which 
has  enabled  the  nitrification  of  the  organic  nitrogen  to  increase; 
another  applies  potash,  a  third  phosphates ;  if  either  of  these 
are  absent,  the  crops  cannot  make  use  of  the  nitric  acid,  how- 
ever great  may  be  the  amount  diffused  through  the  soil. 

It  may  possibly  be  said  that  the  use  of  mineral  manures  tends 
to  exhaust  the  soil  of  its  nitrogen  ;  this  may,  or  may  not,  be 
true  ;  but  even  if  the  minerals  enable  the  crop  to  take  up  a 
larger  amount  of  the  nitric  acid  found  in  the  soil  year  by  year, 
this  docs  not  increase  the  exhaustion,  as  the  minerals  only  tend 
to  arrest  that  which  otherwise  might  be  washed  away. 

We  must  look  upon  the  organic  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  as  the 
main  source  of  the  nitrogen  which  grows  our  crops.  Whatever 
may  be  the  amount  derived  from  the  atmosphere,  whether  in 
rain,  or  dew  ;  or  from  condensation  by  the  soil,  or  plants,  it  is 
probable  that,  where  the  land  is  in  arable  cultivation,  the  ni- 
trogen so  obtained,  is  less  than  the  amount  washed  out  of  the 
soil  in  nitric  acid.  Upon  land  which  is  never  stirred  by  the 
plow,  there  is  much  less  waste  and  much  less  activity. 

The  large  increaie  in  the  area  of  land  laid  down  to  perma- 
nent pasture  in  England,  is  not  due  alone  to  the  fall  in  the  price 
of  grain.  The  reduction  of  fertility  in  many  of  the  soils,  which 
have  been  long  under  the  plow,  is  beginning  to  be  apparent. 
Under  these  circumstances  a  less  exhausting  course  of  treat- 
ment becomes  necessary,  and  pasture,  with  the  production  of 
meat,  milk,  and  butter,  takes  the  place  of  grain  fbkb. 


APPENDIX. 


LETTER  FROM  EDWARD  JESSOP,  YORK,  PA. 

YORK,  PA.,  March  16,  1876. 
Joseph  Harris,  Esq.,  Moreton  Farm,  Rochester,  N.  Y. : 

DEAR  SIR— Tour  favor  of  the  2'2d  of  last  month  came  safely  to  hand, 
and  I  am  truly  obliged  to  you  for  the  reply  to  my  question. — You  ask, 
can  I  help  you  with  facts  or  suggestions,  on  the  subject  of  manure  ?  1 
fear  not  much  ;  but  it  may  be  useful  to  you  to  know  what  others  need 
to  know.  I  will  look  forward  to  the  advent  of  "Talks  on  Manures" 
with  much  interest,  hoping  to  got  new  light  on  a  subject  second  to  none 
in  importance  to  the  farmer. 

I  have  done  a  little  at  composting  for  some  years,  and  am  now  having 
a  pile  of  about  forty  cords,  made  up  of  stable-manure  and  earth  taken 
from  the  wash  of  higher  lauds,  turned  and  fined.  The  labor  of  digging 
and  hauling  the  earth,  composting  in  thin  layers  with  manure,  turning, 
and  fining,  is  so  great,  I  doubt  whether  it  pays  for  most  farm  crops— 
this  to  be  used  for  mangel-wurzel  and  market-garden. 

The  usual  plan  in  this  county  is  to  keep  the  stable-manure  made  dur- 
ing winter,  and  the  accumulation  of  the  summer  in  the  barn-yard,  where 
it  is  soaked  by  rain,  and  trampled  fine  by  cattle,  and  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember is  hauled  upon  ground  to  be  seeded  with  wheat  and  grass-seeds. 
I  do  not  think  there  is  much  piling  and  turning  done. 

My  own  conclusions,  not  based  on  accurate  experiments,  however, 
are,  that  the  best  manure  I  have  ever  applied  was  prepared  in  a  covered 
pit  on  which  cattle  were  allowed  to  run,  and  so  kept  well  tramped — 
some  drainage  into  a  well,  secured  by  pouring  water  upon  it,  when 
necessary,  and  the  drainage  pumped  and  distributed  over  the  surface,  at 
short  intervals,  particularly  the  parts  not  well  tramped,  and  allowed  to 
remain  until  it  became  a  homogeneous  mass,  which  it  will  do  without 
having  undergone  so  active  a  fermentation  as  to  have  thrown  off  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  gas. 

The  next  best,  composting  it  with  earth,  as  above  described,  piled 
about  five  or  six  feet  high,  turned  as  often  as  convenient,  and  kept  moist 
enough  to  secure  fermentation. 

Or,  to  throw  all  the  manure  as  made  into  a  covered  pit,  until  it  is 
thoroughly  mixed  and  made  fine,  by  allowing  hogs  to  run  upon  it  and 
root  at  will ;  and  when  prepared  for  even  spreading,  apply  it  as  a  top- 
dressing  on  grass-land — at  any  convenient  time. 

As  to  how  many  loads  of  fresh  manure  it  takes  to  make  one  of  well- 
rotted  manure,  it  may  be  answered  approximately,  three  to  one,  but  that 
would  depend  a  good  deal  on  the  manner  of  doing  it,  and  the  amount 
of  rough  material  in  it.  If  well  trodden  by  cattle  under  cover,  and  suf- 
ficient drainage  poured  over  it,  to  prevent  any  violent  fermentation,  tho 

342 


APPENDIX. 

loss  of  weight,  I  think,  would  not  be  very  great,  nor  the  bulk  lessened 
over  one-half. 

Many  years  ago  an  old  and  successful  farmer  said  to  me,  "  if  you  want 
to  get  the  full  benefit  of  manure,  spread  it  as  a  top-dressing  on  some 
growing  crop,"  and  all  my  experience  and  observation  since  tend  to  con- 
firm the  correctness  of  his  advice. 

While  on  this  subject,  allow  me  to  protest  against  the  practice  of 
naming  the  quantity  of  manure  applied  to  a  given  space,  as  so  many 
l>ads,  as  altogether  too  indefinite.  The  bushel  or  cord  is  a  definite  quan- 
tity, which  all  can  understand. 

The  average  price  of  good  livery  stable  horse-manure  at  this  place  has 
been  for  several  years  four  dollars  a  cord. 

With  two  and  a  half  miles  to  haul,  I  am  trying  whether  keeping  a  flock 
of  50  breeding  ewes,  and  feeding  liberally  with  wheat  bran,  in  addition 
to  hay  and  pasture,  will  not  produce  the  needed  manure  more  cheaply. 
Respectfully  yours,  EDWARD  JESSOP. 

P.  &—  You  ask  for  the  average  weight  of  a  cord  of  manure,  such  as  we 
pay  four  dollars  for. 

1  had  a  cord  of  horse-stable  manure  from  a  livery  stable  in  York  which 
had  been  all  the  time  under  cover,  with  sevaral  pigs  running  upon  it, 
and  was  moist,  without  any  excess  of  wet,  loaded  into  a  wagon-box 
holding  an  entire  cord,  or  123  cubic  feet,  tramped  by  the  wagoner  three 
times  while  loading. 

The  wagon  was  weighed  at  our  hay-scales  before  loading,  and  then  the 
wagon  and  load  together,  with  a  net  result  for  the  manure  of  4,400  Ibs. 
I  considered  this  manure  rather  better  than  the  average.  J  had  another 
load,  from  a  different  place,  which  weighed  over  5,000  Ibs.,  but  on  ex- 
amination it  was  found  to  contain  a  good  deal  of  coal  ashes.  We  never 
buy  by  the  ton.  Harrison  Bros.  &  Co.,  Manufacturing  Chemists,  Phila- 
delphia, rate  barnyard-manure  as  worth  $5.77  per  ton,  and  say  that  would 
be  about  $7.21  per  cord,  which  would  be  less  than  1*  tons  to  the  cord. 
If  thrown  in  loosely,  and  it  happened  to  be  very  dry,  that  might  be  pos- 
sible. 

Waring,  in  his  "  Handy  Book  of  Husbandry,"  page  201,  says,  ha  caused 
a  cord  of  well-trodden  livery  stable  manure  containing  the  usual  pro- 
portion of  straw,  to  be  carefully  weighed,  and  that  the  cord  weighed 
7,080  Ibs. 

The  load  I  had  weighed,  weighing  4,400  Ibs.,  was  considered  by  the 
wagoner  and  by  myself  as  a  fair  sample  of  good  manure.  In  view  of 
these  wide  differences,  further  trials  would  be  desirable.  Dana,  in  hia 
"  Muck  Manual,"  says  a  cord  of  green  cow-dung,  pure,  as  dropped, 
weighs  9,289  Ibs. 

Farmers  here  seldom  draw  manure  with  less  than  three,  more  generally 
with  four  horses  or  mules ;  loading  is  done  by  the  purchaser.  From  the 
barn-yard,  put  on  loose  boards,  from  40  to  60  bushels  are  about  an  aver- 
age load. 

In  hauling  from  town  to  a  distance  of  three  to  five  miles,  farmers  £ren- 
erally  make  two  loads  of  a  coi-d  each,  a  day's  work.  From  the  barn-yard, 


344  TALKS  ON  MANURES. 

a  very  variable  number,  per  day.  In  my  own  case,  two  men  with  three 
horses  have  been  hauling;  six  and  seven  loads  of  sixty  bushels,  fine  com- 
post, a  distance  of  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  up  a  long 
and  rather  steep  hill,  and  spreading  from  the  wagon,  as  hauled,  upon 
grass-sod. 

Our  larger  farmers  often  have  one  driver  and  his  team,  two  wagons, 
one  loading,  while  the  other  is  drawn  to  the  field  ;  the  driver  slips  off 
one  of  the  side-boards,  and  with  his  dung-hook  draws  off  piles  at  nearly 
equal  distances,  to  be  spre  .d  as  convenient.  EDWARD  JESSOP. 

LETTER  FROM   DR.    E.    L.    STJRTEVANT,    SOUTH  FRAMINGHAM,   MASS. 

SOUTH  FRAMINGHAM,  MASS.,  April  2,  1376. 

FRIEND  HARRIS— Manure  about  Boston  is  sold  in  various  ways.  First, 
according  to  the  number  of  animals  kept;  price  varying  so  much,  that  I 
do  not  venture  to  name  the  figures.  By  the  cord,  to  be  trodden  over 
while  loading ;  never  by  weight,  so  far  as  I  can  learn— price  from  0  to 
§12.00  per  cord,  according  to  season,  and  various  accidental  circum- 
stances. During  the  past  winter,  manure  has  been  given  away  in  Boston. 
Handling,  hauling  to  the  railroad,  and  freight  costing  $4  per  cord  for 
carrying  30  miles  out.  Market-gardeners  usually  haul  manure  as  a  re- 
turn freight  on  their  journeys  to  and  from  market.  About  South  Fra- 
mingham,  price  stiff  at  $8  a  cord  in  the  cellar,  and  this  may  be  considered 
the  ruling  suburban  price.  Very  friendly  yours, 

E.  LEWIS  STUBTEVANT. 

LETTER  FROM  M.    C.    WELD. 

NEW  TORE,  Nov.  9,  1876. 

MY  DEAR  HARRIS— I  don't  know  what  I  can  write  about  manures, 
that  would  be  of  use.  I  have  strong  faith  in  humus,  in  ashes,  leached 
and  unleached,  in  lime,  gas-lime,  plaster,  bones,  ammonia  ready  formed, 
nitrates  ready  formed,  not  much  in  meat  and  blood,  unless  they  are 
cheap.  Nevertheless,  they  often  are  cheap,  and  produce  splendid  effects. 
I  believe  in  sulphuric  acid,  with  organic  nitrogenous  manures  ;  the  com- 
posting of  meat,  blood,  hair,  etc.,  with  peat  and  muck,  and  wetting  it 
down  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  I  believe  in  green-manuring,  heartily, 
and  in  tillage,  tillage,  tillage.  Little  faith  in  superphosphates  and  com- 
pounded manures,  at  selling  prices.  Habirshaw's  guano  is  good  enough. 
So  much  for  my  creed.  Truly  yours,  M.  C.  WELD. 

LETTER  FROM  PETER  HENDERSON. 

NEW  YORK,  Oct.  C6, 1876. 
Mr.  Jbreph  Harris: 

DEAR  SIR— If  you  will  refer  to  my  work  "  Gardening  for  Profit,"  New 
Edition,  page  34,  you  will  get  about  all  the  information  1  possess  on 
Manures,  except  that  I  do  not  say  anything  about  price.  In  a  general 
way  it  might  be  safe  to  advise  that  whenever  a  ton  (it  is  always  best  to 
speak  of  manures  by  weight)  of  either  cow,  horse,  hog,  or  other  stable- 
manure  can  be  laid  on  the  ground  for  S3,  it  is  cheaper  than  commercial 
fertilizers  of  any  kind  at  their  usual  market  rates.  This  $3  per  ton,  I 


APPENDIX.  345 

think,  would  be  about  the  average  cost  in  New  York,  Boston,  or  Phila- 
delphia. We  never  haul  it  on  the  ground  until  we  are  ready  to  plow  it 
in.  If  it  has  to  be  taken  from  the  hog  or  cattle  yards,  we  draw  it  out  into 
large  heaps,  convenient  to  where  it  is  to  be  put  on  the  land,  turning  it, 
to  keep  it  from  burning  or  "fire-fanging,"  if  necessary.  None  of  our 
farmers  or  market-gardeners  here  keep  it  under  cover.  The  expense  of 
such  covering  and  the  greater  difficulties  in  getting  at  it,  for  the  immense 
quantities  we  use,  would  be  greater  than  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
keeping  it  under  cover — benefits,  in  fact,  which,  I  think,  may  be  greatly 
overrated.  Very  truly  yours,  PETER  HENDERSON. 

LETTER    FROM    J.   M.   B.   ANDERSON,   ED.    "CANADA    FARMER,"    TORONTO. 

"  CANADA  FARMER  "  OFFICE,  TORONTO,  March  29,  1870. 
J.  Harris,  Esq. : 

DEAR  SIR — Tours  of  the  25th  fnst.  is  to  hand,  and  I  shall  be  most 
h".ppy  to  render  you  any  assistance  in  my  power.  The  work  you  under- 
take is  in  able  hands,  and  I  have  every  confidence  that,  when  completed, 
it  will  form  an  invaluable  acquisition  to  the  agricultural  literature  of  the 
day. 

Manure  in  this  city  is  usually  sold  by  the  two-horse  load— about  H 
tons— at  the  rate  of  $1  per  load,  or  63  cents  per  ton.  The  load  contains 
just  about  a  cord  of  manure,  consequently  a  cord  will  weigh  about  li  tons. 

With  reference  to  the  general  management  of  manure  in  Canada,  I  may 
say  that  the  system  followed  differs  in  no  material  respect  from  that  of 
New  York  and  the  other  Eastern  States.  It  is  usually  kept  over  winter 
in  the  open  barn  yard  (rarely  under  cover,  I  am  sorry  to  say),  laid  out  on 
the  land  about  the  time  of  disappearance  of  last  snow,  and  plowed  in. 
In  some  cases  it  is  not  carted  out  until  the  land  is  ready  for  immediate 
plowing.  With  some  of  our  more  advanced  farmers,  the  system  hr.s 
lately  been  adopted  of  keeping  manure  under  cover  and  sprinkling  it 
thoroughly  at  intervals  with  plaster  and  other  substances.  Tanks  are 
also  becoming  more  common  than  formerly,  for  the  preservation  of  liq- 
uid manure,  which  is  usually  applied  by  means  of  large,  perforated  hogs- 
heads, after  the  manner  of  street-watering. 

You  ask,  how  the  manure  is  managed  at  Bow  Park,  Brantford.  That 
made  during  fall  and  winter  is  carefully  kept  in  as  small  bulk  as  possible, 
to  prevent  exposure  to  the  weather.  In  February  and  March  it  is  drawn 
out  and  put  in  heaps  8  feet  square,  and  well  packed,  to  prevent  the  es- 
scape  of  ammonia.  In  spring,  as  soon  as  practicable,  it  is  spread,  and 
plowed  under  immediately.  Manure  made  in  spring  and  summer  is 
spread  on  the  field  at  once,  and  plowed  under  with  a  good,  deep  furrow 

Very  truly  yours,  J.  M.  B.  ANDERSON,  Ed.  Canada  Fanner. 

MANURE  STATISTICS  OF  LONG  ISLAND. 

THE  MANURE   TRADE    OF  LONG    ISLAND— LETTER    FROM    J.  H.  RUSIIMORE. 

OLD  WESTEURY,  Long  Island,  April  6,  1876. 
Jb^c-nh  Harris,  E^q. : 

DEAR  SIR— The  great  number  of  dealers  in  manure  in  New  York  pro- 


346 


TALKS    OK   MAN-TIRES. 


cJudes  accuracy,  yet  Mr.  Skidmore  (who  has  been  testifying  volumi- 
nously before  the  New  York  Board  of  Health  in  relation  to  manure  and 
street  dirt),  assures  me  that  the  accompanying  figures  are  nearly  correct. 
1  enclose  statement,  from  two  roads,  taken  from  their  books,  and  the 
amount  shipped  over  the  other  road  I  obtained  verbally  from  the  General 
Freight  Agent,  and  embody  it  in  the  sheet  of  statistics. 

The  Ash  report  I  know  is  correct,  as  I  had  access  to  the  books  showing 
the  business,  for  over  ten  years.  I  have  made  numerous  applications, 
verbally,  and  by  letter,  to  our  largest  market  gardeners,  but  there  seems 
to  exist  a  general  and  strong  disinclination  to  communicate  anything 
worth  knowing.  I  enclose  the  best  of  the  replies  received.  Speaking 
for  some  of  our  largest  gardeners,  I  may  say  that  they  cultivate  over  one 
hundred  acres,  and  use  land  sufficiently  near  to  the  city  to  enable  them 
to  dispense  with  railroad  transportation  in  bringing  manure  to  their 
places  and  marketing  crops.  I  have  noticed  that  one  of  the  shrewdest 
gardeners  invariably  composts  horn-shavings  and  bone-meal  with  horse- 
manure  several  months  before  expecting  to  use  it.  A  safe  average  of 
manure  used  per  acre  by  gardeners,  may  be  stated  at  ninety  (90)  tubs, 
and  from  two  hundred  to  twenty  hundred  pounds  of  fertilizer  in  addi- 
tion, according  to  its  strength,  and  the  kind  of  crop. 

The  following  railroad  manure  statistics  will  give  a  gen  er-.lly  correct 
idea  of  the  age  of  manure,  when  used : 

STATEMENT  OP  MANURE  SENT  FROM  JAIT.   1   TO  Di:C.   Cl,   1875. 

Over  F.  N.  S.  &  C.  7?.  11.     Over  Southern  R.  R. 

January 1,531  tubs.  5,815  tubs. 

February '  4,357 

March 740  12,217 

April 12,122  7,055 

May 7,383  3,049 

June 5,725  1,365 

July 6,4734  685 

August 6,370i  2,911 

September 8,19  /  14,702 

October    880  660 

November 512  840 

December 1,406    4,0:3 

46,340  tubs.  57,679  tubs. 

A  tub  is  equal  to  14  bushels. 

Hobson,  Hurtado  &  Co.  report  the  amount  of  Peruvian  guano  sold  in 
this  country  last  year  at  thirty  thousand  tons. 

Estimated  number  of  horses  in  New  York  city,  100,000. 

Estimated  product  of  manure  per  horse.     Four  cords. 

Estimated  proportion  of  straw  to  pure  excrement.     One-half. 

Amount  shipped  direct  from  stables.     Nearly  all. 

Amount  shipped  on  vessels.    One-half. 

Length  of  time  the  unshipped  manure  remains  in  heaps.  From  three 
to  four  months. 

Average  cost  per  horse,  annually.    S3. 

Greatest  distance  of  shipment.    Virginia. 


APPENDIX.  347 

Average  amount  shipped  via  L.  I.  R.  R.    60,000  tubs. 

Price  of  manure  per  tub  delivered  on  cars  or  vessel.    80  cents. 

Average  amount  put  on  car.    40  tubs. 

STATISTICS  OF  ASH  TRADE. — Time  when  ashes  are  delivered.  From 
middle  of  June  to  middle  of  October. 

Places  from  which  they  are  mostly  shipped.  Montreal,  Belleville,  and 
Toronto  (Canada). 

Method  of  transportation.     Canal  boats. 

Average  load  per  boat.     About  8,000  bushels. 

Average  amount  annually  sold.     360,000  bushels. 

Average  cost  delivered  to  farmers.    20i  cents  per  bushel. 

Per  Acre,  about. 

Amount  used  by  farmers  for  potatoes 60  tubs. 

"            "      4k        "         "    cabbage  (late)....  50    " 
"  "     «        "         "    corn 12    " 

Amount  of  guano  used  on  Long  Island,  as  represented  by  fhe  books 
of  Chapman  &  Yauwyck,  and  their  estimate  of  sales  by  other  firms, 
5,000  tons. 

The  fertilizers  used  on  the  Island  are  bought  almost  exclusively  by 
market  gardeners  or  farmers,  who  do  a  little  market  gardening,  as  it  is 
the  general  conviction  that  ordinary  farm-crops  will  not  give  a  compen- 
sating return  for  their  application.  Most  market  gardeners  keep  so 
little  stock  that  the  manure  made  on  the  place  is  very  inconsiderable. 
Our  dairy  farmers  either  compost  home-made  manures  with  that  from 
the  city,  spread  it  on  the  land  for  corn  in  the  spring,  or  rot  it  separate, 
to  use  in  the  fall  for  wheat,  on  land  that  has  been  cropped  with  oats  the 
same  year.  The  manure  put  on  for  potatoes  is  generally  estimated  to 
enrich  the  land  sufficient  for  it  to  produce  one  crop  of  winter  grain,  and 
from  five  to  seven  crops  of  grass,  when  it  is  again  plowed  and  cultivated 
in  rotation  with,  first,  corn,  second,  potatoes  or  oats,  and  is  reseeded  in 
autumn  of  the  same  year. 

Fish  and  fish  guano  are  largely  used  on  land  bordering  the  water,  and 
adjacent  to  the  oil-works.  The  average  price  for  guano  in  bulk  at  oil- 
works  is  $12  per  ton.  The  average  price  for  fish  en  wharf  is  $1.50  per 
thousand,  and  it  is  estimated  that,  as  a  general  average,  6,000  fish  make 
a  ton  of  guano.  The  fish,  when  applied  to  corn,  are  placed  two  at  each 
hill,  and  plowed  under  at  any  time  after  the  corn  is  large  enough  to  cul- 
tivate. Seaweed  is  highly  prized  by  all  who  use  it,  and  it  will  produce 
a  good  crop  of  corn  when  spread  thickly  on  the  land  previous  to  plowing. 

Very  respectfully,  J.  H.  RUSHMORE. 

LETTER  FROM  JOHN  E.  BACKUS. 

NEWTOWN,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  March  2nd,  1876. 

Mr.   G.  H.  Rushmore: 

DEAR  SIR. — Some  farmers  and  market-gardeners  use  more,  and  some 
less,  manure,  according  to  crops  to  be  raised.  I  use  about  30  good  two- 
horse  wagon-loaus  to  the  acre,  to  be  applied  in  rows  or  broad-casted,  as 
best  for  certain  crops.  I  prefer  old  horse-dung  for  most  all  purposes. 


348  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

Guano,  as  a  fertilizer,  phosphate  of  bone  and  blood  are  very  good ;  they 
act  as  a  stimulant  on  plants  and  vegetation,  and  are  highly  beneficial  to 
some  vegetation -more  valuable  on  poor  soil  than  elsewhere,  except  to 
produce  a  thrifty  growth  in  plants,  and  to  insure  a-  large  crop. 

By  giving  you  these  few  items  they  vary  considerably  on  different 
parts  of  the-Island  ;  judgment  must  be  used  in  all  cases  and  all  busi- 
ness. Hoping  these  few  lines  may  be  of  some  avail  to  Mr.  Harris  and 
yourself,  I  remain,  yours,  etc.,  JOHN  E.  BACKUS. 

MANURE  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 

LETTER  FROM  JOSEPH  HEACOCK. 

JENKINTOWN,  Montgomery  Co.,  Pa.,  April  18th,  1876. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  HARRIS.— Stable-manure  in  Philadelphia,  costs  by 
the  single  four-horse-load,  about  $9  or  $10.  Mostly,  the  farmers  who 
haul  much  of  it\  have  it  engaged  by  the  year,  and  then  it  can  be  had  for 
from  67  to  88  per  load.  Mostly,  four  horses  are  used,  though  we  fre- 
quently see  two  and  three-horse  teams,  and  occasionally,  five  or  six 
horses  are  used.  I  have  never  seen  any  kind  of  dung  hauled  but  that  of 
horses.  Cow-manure  would  be  thought  too  heavy  to  haul  so  long  a  dis- 
tance. Sugar-house  waste,  spent  hops,  glue  waste,  etc,  are  hauled  to  a 
email  extent.  We  live  about  9  miles  from  the  center  of  the  city,  and  the 
road  is  very  hilly,  though  otherwise  a  good  one,  being  made  of  stone. 

The  loads  vary  from  2t  to  Lit  or  4  tons  for  four  horses,  according  to 
the  dryii^ss  of  the  manure.  The  wagons  are  made  very  strong,  and  weigh 
from  1,GCO  Ibs.  to  2,800  or  2,iCO  Ibs.,  according  to  the  number  of  horses 
that  are  to  be  used  to  them.  I  cannot  say  how  many  cords  there  are  in 
an  average  load,  but  probably  not  less  than  two  cords  to  four  horses. 
One  of  my  neighbors  has  a  stable  engaged  .by  the  year.  He  pays  $2.50 
per  ton,  and  averages  about  three  tons  per  load,  and  the  distance  from 
the  stable  in  the  city  to  his  place,  can  not  be  less  than  12  miles.  His 
team  goes  empty  one  way  and  of  course  can  not  haul  more  than  a  load 
a  day.  In  fact,  can  not  average  that,  as  it  would  be  too  hard  on  his 
horses.  The  horses  used  for  the  purpose  are  large  and  strong.  Fifteen 
or  twenty  years  ago,  there  was  kept  on  most  farms  of  75  to  100  acres,  a 
team  purposely  for  hauling  manure  from  the  city.  But  it  is  different 
now,  many  of  the  farmers  using  artificial  manures,  as  it  costs  so  much 
Jess ;  and  others  are  keeping  more  stock,  and  so  making  their  own 
manure.  Still,  there  is  a  great  deal  hauled  yet.  And  some  of  it  to  a 
distance  of  20  miles.  Though  when  hauled  to  this  distance,  the  teams 
are  loaded  both  ways.  For  instance,  they  will  start  to  the  city  with  a 
load  of  hay  (35  to  50  cwt.),  on  Monday  afternoon  (Tuesday  is  the  day  of 
the  Hay  Market) ;  and  when  they  have  their  load  of  hay  off  on  Tuesday, 
they  load  their  manure  and  drive  out  five  or  six  miles  and  put  up  for  the 
night.  Next  morning  they  start  about  3  o'clock,  arriving  home  before 
noou,  having  been  away  two  days.  On  Thursday  afternoon,  they  start 
again.  You  can  see  that  manuring  in  this  way  is  very  expensive.  But 
farmers  about  here  well  know  that  if  they  do  not  manure  well  they  raise 


APPENDIX.  349 

but  little.  Probably  about  four  loads  are  used  per  acre  on  the  average. 
Each  load  is  generally  thrown  off  the  wagon  in  one  large  heap  near 
where  wanted,  and  is  allowed  to  lie  until  they  use  it.  I  can  not  tell 
how  much  it  loses  in  bulk  by  lying  in  the  heap. 

As  to  what  crops  it  is  used  on,  farmers  do  not  think  that  they  could 
go  amiss  in  applying  it  to  anything  except  oats.  But  it  is  probably  used 
more  for  top-dressing  mowing  land,  and  for  potatoes,  than  for  any- 
thing else. 

The  usual  rotation  is  corn,  potatoes,  or  oats,  wheat  seeded  to  clover 
and  timothy,  and  then  kept  in  grass  from  two  to  four  years.  Those  who 
haul  stable-manure,  usually  use  bone-dust  or  superphosphate  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent. 

Last  December  I  built  a  pig-pen,  20  ft.  x40  ft.,  1?  stories  high.  The 
upper  story  to  be  used  for  litter,  etc.  There  is  a  four  feet  entry  on  the 
north  side,  running  the  length  of  the  building.  The  remainder  is  divided 
into  five  pens,  each  8  ft.  x  16  ft.  It  is  made  so  that  in  cold  weather  it  can 
be  closed  up  tight,  while  in  warmer  weather  it  can  be  made  as  open  as 
an  out-shed.  I  am  very  much  pleased  with  it.  The  pigs  make  a  great 
deal  of  manure,  and  I  believe  that  it  can  be  made  much  cheaper  than 
it  can  be  bought  and  hauled  from  Philadelphia. 

JOSEPH  HEACOCK,  JR. 

LETTER  FROM  HERMAN  L.  ROUTZAHN. 

MIDDLETOWN,  Md.,  May  llth,  1876. 
Joseph  Harris,  E.q.  : 

I  herewith  proceed  to  answer  questions  asked. 

Wheat  and  corn  are  principal  crops.  Corn  is  fed  now  altogether  to 
stock  for  the  manure. 

There  is  but  little  soiling  done.  The  principal  method  of  making 
manure  is :  Feeding  all  the  com  raised,  as  well  as  hay,  oats,  and  roots, 
to  cattle;  using  wheat  straw,  weeds,  etc.,  as  bedding,  throwing  the 
manure  in  the  yard  (uncovered),  and  to  cover  the  pile  with  plaster  (by 
sowing  broadcast),  at  least  once  a  week.  To  this  pile  is  added  the 
manure  from  the  hog-pens,  hen-house,  etc.,  and  worked  over  thoroughly 
at  least  twice  before  using.  It  is  then  applied  to  corn  by  plowing 
under  ;  to  wheat,  as  a  top-dressing.  For  corn  it  is  usually  hauled  to  the 
field,  thrown  off  in  heaps  25  feet  each  way,  a  cart-load  making  two  heaps. 
Spread  just  before  the  plow.  For  wheat,  spread  on  directly  after  plow- 
ing, and  thoroughly  harrowed  in.  Applied  broadcast  for  potatoes.  Com- 
posts of  different  kinds  are  made  and  used  same  as  in  other  localities,  1 
presume.  Artificial  manures  are  going  into  disrepute  (justly  too).  This 
is  the  plan  now  adopted  by  the  farmers  in  this  county  (Frederick). 
Where  woods  are  accessible,  leaves  and  mould  are  hauled  in  and  added  to 
the  manure-heap  ;  in  fact,  every  substance  that  can  be  worked  into  the 
manure-heap  is  freely  used.  Well-rotted  stable-manure  is  worth  from 
$1.50  to  $2.50  per  cord,  according  to  condition  and  locality. 
Very  Respectfully  Yours, 

HERMAN  L.  ROUTZAHN. 


350  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

LETTER  FROM  PROF.  E.   M.   SHELTON,  PROF.  OF  AGRICULTURE,  KANSAS 
STATE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE. 

KANSAS  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE, 

MANHATTAN,  Kansas,  May  53 1876. 

DEAR  SIR.— In  reply  to  your  first  question,  I  would  scy  that  stable- 
manure  in  this  vicinity,  is  held  in  very  light  estimation.  Indeed,  by  the 
householders  of  this  city,  and  quite  generally  by  the  farmers,  manure  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  those  things— like  drouth  and  grasshoppers— with  which 
a  mysterious  Providence  sees  fit  to  clog  the  operations  of  the  husband- 
man. The  great  bulk  of  the  stable-manure  made  in  this  city  is,  every 
spring,  carted  into  ravines  and  vacant  lots — wherever,  in  short,  with 
least  expense  it  can  be  put  out  of  reach  of  the  senses. 

It  must  not  be  understood  by  this  that  manure  has  little  influence  on 
the  growing  crops  in  Kansas.  Nowhere  have  I  seen  such  excellent 
results  from  application  of  home-made  fertilizers,  as  in  Kansas.  For 
those  sterile  wastes  known  as  "Alkali  lands,"  and  "Buffalo  wallows," 
manure  is  a  speedy  and  certain  cure.  During  two  years  of  severe  drouth, 
I  have  noticed  that  wherever  manure  had  been  supplied,  the  crop  with- 
stood the  effects  of  dry  weather  much  better  than  where  no  application 
had  been  made.  Four  years  ago,  a  strip  across  one  of  our  fields  was 
heavily  manured  ;  this  year  this  field  is  into  wheat,  and  a  dark  band  that 
may  be  seen  half  a  mile  shows  where  this  application  was  made. 

These  facts  the  better  class  of  our  farmers  are  beginning  to  appreciate. 
A  few  days  ago,  a  neighbor,  a  very  intelligent  farmer,  assured  me  that 
from  manuring  eight  to  ten  acres  every  year,  his  farm  was  now  in  better 
condition  than  when  be  broke  up  the  prairie  fifteen  years  ago. 

I  know  of  no  analysis  of  stable  or  farmyard-manure  made  in 
Kansas.  Concerning  the  weight  of  manures,  I  can  give  you  a  few  facts, 
having  had  occasion  during  the  past  winter  to  weigh  several  loads  used 
for  experimental  purposes.  This  manure  was  wheeled  into  the  barnyard, 
chiefly  from  the  cattle  stalls,  during  the  winter  of  1874r-5.  It  lay  in  the 
open  yard  until  February  last,  when  it  was  weighed  and  hauled  to  the 
fields.  I  found  that  a  wagon-box,  li  x3  x9  feet,  into  which  the  manure 
was  pitched,  without  treading,  held  with  slight  variations,  when  level 
full,  one  ton.  At  this  rate  a  cord  would  weigh  very  close  to  three  tons. 

The  greatest  difficulty  that  we  have  to  encounter  in  the  management 
of  manure  grows  out  of  our  dry  summers.  During  our  summer  months, 
unless  sufficient  moisture  is  obtained,  the  manure  dries  out  rapidly,  be- 
comes fire-fanged  and  practically  worthless.  My  practice  upon  the  Col- 
tei^e  farm  has  been  to  give  the  bottom  of  the  barn-yard  a  "  dishing  " 
form,  so  that  it  holds  all  the  water  that  falls  upon  it.  The  manure  I 
keep  as  flat  as  possible,  taking  pains  to  place  it  wb,ere  the  animals  will 
keep  it  trod  down  solid.  I  have  adopted  this  plan  after  having  tried 
composting  and  piling  the  manure  in  the  yards,  and  am  satisfied  that  it 
is  the  only  practical  way  to  manage  manures  in  this  climate. 

There  is  no   particular  crop  to  which  manure   is  generally  applied 


APPENDIX.  351 

in  this  State,  unless,  perhaps,  wheat.    The  practice  of  applying  manure  as 
a  top-dressing  to  winter-wheat,  is  rapidly  gaining  ground  here.    It  is 
found  that  the  manure  thus  applied,  acting  as  a  mulch,  mitigates  the 
effects  of  drouth,  besides  improving  the  quality  of  the  grain. 
Very  Respectfully  Yours, 

E.  M.  SHELTON. 

LETTBB  FROM  PROF.  W.  H.  BREWER,  PROFESSOR  OF  AGRICULTURE  IN 
SHEFFIELD  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL  OF  YALE  COLLEGE. 

SHEFFIELD  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL  OF  YALE  COLLEGE, 

NEW  HAVEN,  Conn.,  April  14th,  1876. 
Joseph  Harris,  Esq.,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  : 

MY  DEAR  SIR. — I  have  made  inquiries  relating  to  "  the  price  of  stable- 
manure  in  New  Haven,  and  how  far  the  farmers  and  gardeners  haul  it, 
etc. "  I  have  not  been  to  the  horse-car  stables,  but  I  have  to  several 
livery  stables,  and  they  are  all  essentially  the  same. 

They  say  that  but  little  is  sold  by  the  cord  or  ton,  or  by  any  weight  or 
measure.  It  is  sold  either  "in  the  lump,"  "by  the  month,"  "by  the 
year,"  or  "  per  horse."  Some  sell  it  at  a  given  sum  per  month  for  all 
their  horses,  on  a  general  estimate  of  their  horses — thus,  one  man  says, 
"  I  get,  this  year,  $25  per  month  for  all  my  manure,  he  to  remove  it  as 
fast  as  it  accumulates  ;  say  one,  two,  or  three  times  per  week.  He  hauls 
it  about  five  miles  and  composts  it  all  before  using.'' 

Another  says,  he  sells  per  horse.  "  I  get,  this  year,  813  per  horse, 
they  to  haul  it."  The  price  per  horse  ranges  from  $10  to  $15  per 
year,  the  latter  sum  being  high. 

From  the  small  or  private  stables,  the  manure  is  generally  "  lumped  " 
by  private  contract,  and  is  largely  used  about  the  city.  It  is  hauled 
sometimes  as  much  as  10  miles,  but  usually  much  less. 

But  the  larger  stables  often  sell  per  shipment— it  is  sent  by  cars 
up  the  Connecticut  Valley  to  Westficld,  etc.,  where  it  is  often  hauled 
several  miles  from  the  railroad  or  river. 

Much  manure  is  sent  by  boat  from  New  York  to  the  Connecticut 
Valley  tobacco  lands.  Boats  ("  barges  ")  are  even  loaded  in  Albany,  go 
down  the  Hudson,  up  the  Sound  to  Connecticut,  to  various  places  near 
Hartford,  I  am  told.  Two  or  three  years  ago,  a  man  came  here  and 
exhibited  to  us  pressed  masses  of  manure— a  patent  had  been  taken  out 
for  pressing  it,  to  send  by  R.  R.  (stable  manure).  I  never  heard  anything 
more  about  it — and  he  was  confident  and  enthusiastic  aboiit  it. 

Tours  truly,  WM.  H.  BREWER. 


352 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


FOOD,  INCREASE,  MANURE,  ETC.,  OF  FATTENING  ANIMALS. 

The  following  table  is  given  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Lawes,  of  Rothamsted,  Eng- 
land, showing  the  relation  of  the  increase,  manure,  and  loss  by  respira- 
tion, to  the  food  consumed  by  different  animals: 


Nitrogenous  substance. 
Noil-Nitrogenous     sub- 
stance  

Mineral  Matter 

Total  dry  substance. .. . 


250  Ids.  Oil-cake 


turnips  and 
supply. 


Ibs. 

218 


808 


Ibs. 
9.0 


58.0 


83  I  1.6 
1109    68.6 


Ibs. 

320.0 


81.4 
404.4  !  636 


Ibs. 
636-^ 


100  Total  Dry  Sub- 
stance of  food 
supply. 


0.8  j 

52' 
0.2 
6.2 


7.4 
36.5 


57  3  - 


57.3 


£:£ 


Nitrogenous  substance. 
Non-Nitrogenous     sub- 
stance   

Mineral  matter 

Total  dry  substance 


250  Rut.  Oil-cake} 


turnips  and 
supply. 


\ 

&      * 


177 

671 

04 

912 


Ibs. 


7.5)  I 

}•    229-] 
63.0  ( 

2.0         (52 
72.5     '  2)1 


Ibs. 


Ibs. 

54! 


••) 


543.5 


100  Total  Dry  Sub- 

of,  ' 
supply. 


ll 


0.8)1                    (  4.2 

!•  25.1  eo.i-i 

7. of             I  9.4 

0.2         6.8  !   ..  j  S.I 

8.0       31.9     00.1  I   ... 


590  lb*.  Barley  meal  produce 
100  Ibs.  increase,  and  supply. 

100  Total  hru  -6>«>- 
stance  of  Food 
supply. 

it] 

j 

Ii 

1 

Is 

1 

ft^ 

ii 

! 

il 

i—  i 

* 

w  o 

hH 

1 

V 

Nitrogenous  substance. 
Non  -Nitrogenous  sub- 
stance 

Ibs. 
52 

357 

Ibs. 
7.0, 

66.0) 

Ibs. 
59.8-^ 

Ibs. 
276.2J 

Ml 

15.71 

14.3 

65.7-^ 

13.5 
18.5 

Mineral  matter  

11 

0.8      10  2 

0.2 

2.4 

7.3 

Total  dry  substance  

421      73.8      70.0     270.2 

17.  (i 

1G.7    05.7     ' 

APPENDIX. 


333 


In  the  last  edition  of  bis  hook  on  Manure,  "  Pralitischc  Dungerlehre," 
Dr.  Emil  Wollf,  gives  the  following  tables  : 

Of  100  Ibs.  of  dry  substance  in  the  food,  there  is  found  in  the  excre- 
ments : 


DRY  SUBSTANCE. 

Cow. 

Ox. 

Sheep. 

Horse. 

Mean. 

In  the  Dun" 

38.0  Ibs.  4.j.o  ILM. 
9.1     >l  1  5.8    " 
47.1    "  151.4    " 

46.9  Ibs.  4-.0  ibb. 
6.6    "  1  a.G    k> 
53.5    '•  W5,«    '.' 

4:..  A  ibs. 
6.3    " 
-19  A    " 

In  the  Urine  

Total  dry  substance  in  the  Manure... 

Of  100  Ibs.  of  organic  substance  in  the  food,  there  is  found  in  the  ex- 
crements : 


ORGANIC  SUBSTANCE. 

Cow. 

Ox. 

Sheep.  \  Horse. 

Mean. 

In  the  Dun^  

36.5  Ibs.  48.9  Ibs. 
6.0    "  i  3.2    " 
42.5    "  147.1    " 

45.6  Ibs. 
3.9    " 
49.5   " 

88.3  Ibs. 
2.5    " 
140.7   " 

41.0  Ibs. 
3.9    lt 
144.9   ** 

In  the  Urine 

Total  organic  Bubstancc  in  Manure. 

Of  100  Ibs.  of  nitrogen  in  the  food,  there  is  found  in  the  excrements : 


NITROGEN. 

Cow. 

Ox. 

Sheep. 

Horse. 

Mean. 

In  tlie  Dun" 

45.5  Ibs. 

10.3    u 
G3.8    " 

51  0  Ibs.  43.7  Ibs. 
38.6   "    151.8    '• 
89.6    "    '95.5    " 

5(i.l  Ibs.  49.  libs. 
27.3   iv    31.0    " 
83.4   "    83.1    " 

In  tlie  Urine  

Total  Nitrogen  in  Manure  

Of  100  Ibs.  mineral  matter  in  the  food,  there  is  found  in  the  excrements  : 


MINERAL  MATTER. 

Cow. 

Ox. 

Sheep. 

Horse. 

Mean. 

In  the  Dung  

53.9  lbs». 

70.8  Ibs. 

03.2  Ibs. 

85.6  Ibs. 

6^.4  Ibs. 

In  the  Urine  

43.1    " 

46.7    " 

40.3    " 

16.3    " 

35.1    " 

Total  mineral  matter  in  Ma- 
nure    

97.0   " 

117.5   " 

103.5    " 

101.9    " 

103.5   " 

The  excess  of  mineral  matter  is  due  to  the  mineral  matter  in  the 
water  drank  by  the  animals. 

The  following  tables  of  analyses  are  copied  in  full  from  the 
last  edition  (1875),  of  Dr.  Emil  Wolffs  PraMsche  Dungerlehre. 

The  figures  differ  materially  in  many  cases  from  those  previously 
published.  They  represent  the  average  results  of  numerous  relia- 
ble analyses,  and  are  sufficiently  accurate  for  all  practical  purposes 
connected  with  the  subject  of  manures.  In  special  cases,  it  will  be 
well  to  consult  actual  analyses  of  tho  articles  to  be  used. 


354 


TALKS    ON    MANU1IES. 


I.— TABLES  FOR  CALCULATING  THE  EXHAUSTION  AND  EN- 
RICHING OF    SOILS. 


A.— HARVEST  PRODUCTS  AND  VARIOUS  MANUFACTURED  ARTICLES. 
Average  quantity  of  water,  nitrogen,  and  total  ash,  and  the  different  ingredi- 
ents of  the  ash  in  1000  Ibs.  of  fresh  or  air-dried  substance. 


SUBSTANCE. 

1 

Nitrogen. 

if 

^ 

Potash. 

e 

I 

I 
| 

Is 
|^ 

Sulphuric 
Acid. 

} 

I.—  HAT. 

Meadow  Hay  
Rye  Grass  

143 

1-T1 

15.5 

1(5  3 

51.5 

582 

13.2 

202 

2.3 
2  0 

8.6 
4  3 

3.3 
1  3 

4.1 
6  2 

2.4 

2  3 

13.9 

18  5 

Timothy 

14'i 

15  5 

62  1 

20  4 

1  5 

4  5 

1  9 

7  2 

1  8 

22  1 

Moharhay 

134 

17  b 

58  4 

21  2 

1  2 

6  1 

5  4 

q  A 

2  1 

16  3 

Red  Clover               .... 

KiO 

19  7 

56  9 

18  3 

12 

20  0 

6  1 

5  6 

1  7 

1  4 

Rod  Clover,  ripe  
White  Clover       .  .  . 

150 

1^ 

12.5 
23  2 

44.0 
59  8 

9.8 
10  1 

1.4 
4  5 

15.6 
19  3 

6.8 
6  0 

4.3 
8  4 

1.3 

4  9 

3.0 
2  5 

Alsike  Clover  

160 

24  0 

39  7 

11  0 

1  2 

1?  5 

5  0 

4  0 

1  6 

1  6 

Crimson  Olover 

107 

19  5 

50  7 

11  7 

4  3 

l(i  0 

3  1 

3  6 

1  3 

8  2 

ICO 

23  0 

62  1 

15  3 

1  3 

26  2 

3  3 

K   K 

3  7 

38 

Esparsette  
Yellow  Clover  

167 

167 

21.3 
22  1 

45.8 

£5  7 

13.0 
11  9 

1.5 
1  3 

16.8 
826 

3.0 
2  1 

4.6 
4  3 

1.4 
1  0 

3.7 
1  5 

Green  Vetch  Hay  
Groen  Pea  Hay  .  . 

167 

167 

22.7 
22.9 

83.7 
62.4 

28.3 
23  2 

5.6 
?  ^ 

22.8 
15  6 

5.4 
6  3 

10.7 
6  8 

2.8 
5  1 

4.9 
09 

167 

19  2 

5G  8 

1<)  9 

4  6 

10  9 

6  9 

8  4 

2  0 

08 

IT.—  GREEN  FODDEI:. 

Meadow  Grass  in  bloom 
Young  Grass  
Rye  Grass 

700 
800 
731 

5.4 
5.6 

5  7 

18.1 

20.7 
20.4 

4.6 
11.6 
7  2 

0.8 
0.4 

0  7 

3.0 
2.2 
1  5 

1.1 
0.6 
04 

1.5 
2.2 
22 

0.8 

0.8 
08 

4.9 

2.1 
(i  5 

Timothy  Grass        
Rye-Fodder 

",00 

7''iO 

5.4 
53 

21.6 
16.3 

7.4 
6  3 

0.5 
0  1 

1.6 
1.2 

0.7 

0  5 

2.5 
24 

0.6 

0^ 

7.7 
5?, 

Green  Oats 

HO 

3.7 

18.8 

7.5 

06 

1.2 

06 

1.7 

06 

57 

Green  Corn-Fodder  
Sorghum 

822 
773 

1.9 
4.0 

12.0 
13.0 

4.3 

3.6 

0.5 

1  8 

1.6 

1.2 

1.4 

05 

1.3 
08 

0.4 
04 

1.7 

37 

59 

13.9 

5  0 

0  S 

1.4 

1  3 

08 

0  5 

3  9 

Red  (Jlover  in  hlo.-som 
"    before    " 
Whito  Clover  

7SO 
830 
8T> 

5.1 
5.3 

5.6 

13.7 
14.5 
13.6 

4.4 
5.3 
2.3 

0.3 
0.3 
1  0 

48 
4.2 
4.4 

1.5 
1.5 
1.4 

1.4 
1.7 
1.9 

0.4 
0.3 
1.1 

0.3 
0.4 
0.6 

Alsike  Clover  
Crimson  Clover  

8£0 
815 

5.3 
4.3 

8.8 
12.2 

2.4 
2.8 

0.3 
1  0 

3.0 
3.8 

1.1 
0.7 

0.9 
0.9 

0.4 
0.3 

0.4 
2.0 

Lucern      .  .        ..        ... 

740 

7.2 

18.7 

4.6 

04 

7.9 

1  0 

1  6 

1.1 

1.1 

Esparsette 

f-m 

5  1 

12.1 

3.4 

04 

4.4 

08 

1  9 

04 

10 

Yellow  Clover 

S30 

4.5 

14.7 

3.2 

03 

8.6 

0,6 

1,1 

0.3 

0.4 

Green  Vetch  

820 

5.6 

18.1 

6.1 

1,2 

4.9 

1.2 

2.3 

0.6 

1.1 

Green  Peas               

815 

5.1 

13.9 

5.1 

05 

S.5 

1  4 

1.5 

1.1 

0.2 

Green  Rape 

470 

4.6 

12.2 

4.0 

04 

2.7 

05 

1  4 

1.7 

0.6 

Spurry  ...   

800 

3.7 

122 

4.3 

1  0 

2.3 

1.5 

1.8 

0.4 

0.2 

HI.—  ROOT  CROPS. 
Potatoes 

750 

34 

9.4 

57 

0? 

0.2 

04 

1  6 

0,6 

0.2 

Jerusalem  Artichoke... 
Mangel-wurzel 

800 
880 

3.2 
1.8 

9.8 
7.5 

4.7 
4  1 

1.0 
1  9, 

0.3 
0.3 

0.3 
03 

1.4 

06 

0.5 
0.2 

1.0 
0.2 

Sn^ar  Beets      

815 

1.6 

7.1 

3.9 

07 

0.4 

0.5 

0.8 

0.3 

0.1 

Turnips 

990 

1.8 

7.3 

3.3 

07 

0.8 

03 

09 

0.8 

0.1 

Carrots           

850 

2.2 

7.8 

2.8 

1  7 

0.9 

0.4 

1.0 

0.5 

0.2 

Russia  Turnips 

870 

2.1 

11.6 

4.7 

1  9 

1.3 

03 

1.7 

1.5 

0.1 

Succory  
Sugar  Boet,  upper  part 
of  root.  .  . 

800 

840 

2.5 
2.0 

6.7 
9.6 

2.6 

2.8 

1.1 
2.3 

0.5 
0.9 

0.3 
1.1 

0.8 
1.8 

0.5 

0.7 

0.3 
0.2 

APPENDIX. 


355 


SUBSTANCE. 


IV.— LEAVES  &  STEMS 
OF  ROOT  CROPS. 

Potato  Vines,  nearly 

ripe 

Potato  Vines,  unripe. 
Jerusalem  Artichoke. 

Mangel-wurzel 

Sugar  Beets  

Tur  ,ips 

Carrots 

Succory 

Russia  Turnips 

Cabbage,  white 

Cabbage  Stems 

V.— MANUFACTURED 
PRODUCTS  &  REFUSE. 

Wheat  Bran 

Rye  Bran 

Barley  Bran 

Oat  Hulls 

Pea  Bran 

Buckwheat  Bran 

Wheat  Flour 

Rye  Flour 

Barley  Meal 

Corn  Meal 

Green  Malt 

Dry  Malt     

Brewer's  Grains 

Beer 

Malt  sprouts 

Potato  Fibre 

Potato  Slumo 

Sugar-beet  Pomace... 
Clarifying  Refuse... 
Sugar-beet  Molasd,-s. 

Molasses  Slump 

Rape-cake 

Linseed  Oil-cako 

Poppy-cake 

Beech-nut-cake 

Walnut-cake 

Cotton-seed-cake  — 

Cocoanut-cake 

Palm-oil-cake 

VI.— STRAW. 
Winter  Whent. . . , 


Winter  Spelt.. 

Winter  Rye 

Spring  Wheat 

Spring  Rye 

Barley 

Oats 

Indian  Corn-stalks... 
Buckwheat  Straw  ... 

Pea  Straw 

Field  Bean 

Garden  Bean 

Common  Vetch 


4.9 
6.3 
5.3 
3.0 
3.0 
3.0 
51 
3.5 


830 1     4.6 


8.4 

1.8 


131 
136 

L20 

lit) 

no 

140 
136 

112 
14)! 
140  i  .16.0 


22.4 
23.2 
23.7 


27.2 
18.9 
1(5.8 


475 

75 

766 

900 

80 

850 

948 

700 

918 

172 
!)>(> 
150 
116 
100 
LOO 
137 
1  !5 
127 
100 


10.4 
16.0 
7.8 

36."8 

1.8 

1.6 

2.9 

08 

12.8 

3.2 

48.5 

45.3 

52.0 

38.1 

55.3 

3!>.0 

3T.4 

25.9 


•1.8 
1  0 
-1.0 

5.6 
r,.o 
8.4 
6.6 

4.8 
13.0 


ItiO  10.4 

160!  16.3 

160  ... 

160'  12.0 


19.7 
16.5 
14.5 
14.1 
18.1 
11.9 
26.0 
16.5 
25.3 
16.0 
11.6 


53.5 
71.4 
484 
34.7 
22.7 
34.6 

7.2 
16.9 
20.0 

5.9 
14.6 
2<5.6 
11.7 

6.2 
66.7 

1.8 

5.0 
11.4 

33 
82.3 
140 
54.6 
50.8 
7(5.9 
43.3 
46.2 
58.4 
551 


46.1 
50.1 
40.5 
3S.1 
46.6 
41.3 
40.4 
41.9 
51.7 
44.0 
43.9 
40.0 


I 


3. 1 
4.1 

6.6 
8.8 

»!g 

4.8 

3.7 
6.8 
6.1 


14.3 

193 

8.1 

49 

10.3 

11.2 

2.6 

6.5 

5.8 

1.7 

2.5 

4.6 

05 

2.1 

20.6 

0.3 

22 

3.9 

0.3 

57.5 

11.0 

12.4 

12.4 

2.3 

6.5 

14.3 

14.6 

22.4 

5.0 


5.2 

7.8 

11.0 

112 

9.4 

8.9 

9.6 

24.2 

10.1 

18.5 

12.8 

6.3 


0.1 

0.8 

o.a 

1.9 

2.7 

1.1 

6.9 

2.9 

1.0  i 

0.9  I 

0.6 


0.1 
0.6 
1.2 

0.4 
0.9 
0.1 
10.0 
1.5 
1.8 
0.7 
2.3 
4.6 


. 
0.2 


0.6 
0.8 
O'.i 
1.0 


0.2  1.7 
1.0  2.5 
0.7  1.8 


1.4 
4.1 
34 
0.2 
0.2 
0.6 
0.4 
0.5 
1.0 
1.3 
0.2 
1.9 
0.9 
0.3 
2.6 
1.1 
4.7 
0.2 
6.8 
4.3 
27.0 
13.2 
8.1 
2.7 
2.6 
3.1 


1.7 
1.2 

6.1  4.0 

1  1  9.5 

1.8  16.2 

1.1  9.8 

3.2  11.1 

6.9  ;i5.6 


3.3 
2.4 
1.3 
1.3 
2.7 
0.5 
0.0 
0.4 
10 
0.0 
0.5 


1.8 

u.S 
0  ° 

o.'s  j  o.'s 

1.3  |  0.9 

0.9 

1.2 

1.0 

2.6 


1.4 


27.3 
31.3 


88 
11.3 

3.0  8.9 

1.0  !  1.6 

22  3.1 

4.(i  12..-> 

0.4  3.7 

1.4  i  8.5 

2.7  !t.5 

0.9  ,  2.6 

1.2  5.3 


18.0 
0.1  !  0.4 
0.4  1.0 


0.7 
0.2 
0.:] 

7.0 
8.1 
(,-> 
8.6 
6.6 
K'.l 

1.6 

4.:. 


1.1 

0.2 

0.5 

0.1 

19.2 

16.1 

31.2 

9.7 

21.2 

28.1 


o.i 


14.9     2.1 


11.0 


2.2 
2.6 
2.1 
2.0 
3.0 
1.9 
1.9 
5.3 
6.1 
3.5 
3.2 
3.9 
2.7 


0..-; 


0.9 
1.2 

3..; 

(1.5 
U.7 
O.o 

2.9 

0!) 

16 

0.2 
U.2 


or, 

1.4 

23.0 

23.3 

0.9 

0.7 


4.8 

8.8 
4.6 

0.6 
14.7 
0.1 

0.2 
().'.) 
0.7 
0.3 

23 
6.4 
4.5 

08 
0.7 
2.3 
1.9 

O.S 


1.1  >1.2 

1.2  no 

1.1  22.9 

1.2  18.2 

1.2  2fi.l 
1.5  21.5 

1.3  19.6 

1.2  11.7 
2.7  2.9 
2.7  3.0 
l.U  3.2 
1.7  1.9 

3.3  3.6 


356 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


SUBI'TANCE. 

1 

« 

160 

ieo 

160 

143 
143 
143 
143 
143 
143 
140 
150 
143 
140 
120 

140 

100 
v  n 

§ 

9.4 
5.6 

7.2 
7.5 
5.6 
5.8 
4.8 
6.4 
2.3 
16.8 
7.2 
6.4 

•si 

41.4 

40.8 
48.7 

92.5 

121.4 
82.7 
84.0 
120.0 
71.2 
4.6 
54.5 
18.1 
73.2 
54.7 

30.4 
7.0 
6.8 
3S.2 
81.4 
66.8 
40.7 
151.0 
2.1 
13.9 
13.0 
16.3 

36.7 
61.2 
48.1 
19.0 
58.5 
15.8 
41.7 
18.4 
32.0 
19.2 
50.7 
16.6 
13.6 
122.3 

16.9 
18.3 
14.2 
36.6 
17.9 
17.0 
22.2 
27.0 
29.8 
13.0 

i 

e 

2 

•a 
H 

14.8 
11.6 
14.7 

1.8 
4.0 
2,0 
3.5 
12.7 
4.0 
0.2 
6.8 
3.6 
36.3 
15.4 

6.8 
3.6 
3.6 
20.3 
18.1 
11.1 
12.6 
62.8 
0.1 
2.9 
4.5 
5.4 

3.3 
4.-> 
3.6 
6.4 
2C.4 
4.1 
20.3 
6.1 
4.3 
2.2 
6.2 
3.6 
2.2 
16.7 

0.6 

0.5 
0.4 
1.0 
0.5 
0.2 
0.6 
1.0 
0.2 
0.3 

1 

3.6 
2.5 
3.1 

1.2 
1.5 
2.1 
1.2 
1.6 
1.5 
0.2 
5.9 
1.5 
4,2 
3.3 

2.0 

0.2 
0.3 
2.4 
6.4 
3.7 
2.7 
17.7 
0.1 
0.7 
0.7 
10 

1.1 
2.9 
3.1 
1.4 

r.5 

2.1 
1.7 
1.1 
0.5 
1.1 
3.5 
1.6 
1.6 
10.0 

2.0 

2.2 
1.7 
2.t 
2.1 
2.1 
1.9 
1.9 
2.9 
2.0 

| 

tl 

r_ 

3.7 
2.4 
1.6 

4.0 
3.1 
6.1 
5.6 
2.4 
1.3 
0.2 
2.7 
1.1 
3.4 
4.5 

4.0 
0.8 
0.7 
2.3 
7.5 
11.2 
4.4 
4.8 
0.4 
2.5 
1.6 
1.3 

2.3 
4.6 
4.3 
1.3 
2.4 
1.9 
3.5 
1.0 
1.4 
0.9 
4.2 
1.1 
1.1 
3.8 

7.9 
'8.9 
6.0 
7.6 
8.4 
5.6 
7.7 
6/2 
5.9 
5.9 

5 

§•» 

P 

T3 

IT 

2.1 
2.6 
5.5 

75.1 
105.3 
61.3 
69.2 
86.6 
50.4 
1.3 
0.3 
0.9 
1.0 
5.C 

1.7 
1.3 
0.8 
3.5 
16.4 
11.1 
3.4 
13.5 

o.'-i 
D.a 

4.1 

20.0 
20.3 
6.8 
3.8 
19.7 
0.7 
12.9 
6.3 
22.6 
55 
10.3 
4.9 
1.3 
2.5 

0.4 
0.3 
0.2 
17.1 
0.4 
4.9 
6.1 
12.0 
15.8 
0.2 

Lupine  

8.0 
11.1 
18.4 

8.5 

4.8 
7.9 
5.3 
9.4 
4.6 
2.4 
3.13 
8.7 
11.8 
15.4 

9.4 
0.3 
0.3 
4.6 
20.1 
23.0 
11.4 
30.3 
1.3 
6.1 
4.0 
3.9 

6.8 
17.7 
19.0 
3.7 
2.3 
5.4 
1.4 
1.0 
0.6 
2.6 
JS.O 
2.1 
4.8 
159 

5.3 

5.5 
5.1 
5.7 
5.6 
2.6 
4.5 
4.4 
3.4 
3.7 

2.6 
3.8 
O.(i 

1.7 

1.0 
0.2 
03 
1.2 
2.9 
0.1 
1.3 
07 
4.4 
3.0 

2.5 
0.2 

0.3 
0.7 
2.8 
1.4 
1.7 
5.1 

6.2 

1.4 
0.2 

0.2 
4.9 
3.1 
0.4 
0.4 

6.3 
0.3 
0.1 
1.6 
2.1 
1.1 
0.3 
28.1 

0.4 
0-4 
0-5 
0.4 
0.3 
0.7 
0.6 
0.6 
0.4 
0.2 

3.0 
3.1 
2.5 

6.7 
1.9 
0.1 
3.7 
3.5 
0.1 
1.2 
0.5 
7.3 
3.4 

2.0 
0.2 
0.:J 
0.7 
8.7 
2.4 
1.3 
5.8 
C.I 
0.6 
0.3 
0.3 

0.6 

2.3 
1.3 
(>A 
2.1 
0.4 
1.8 
0.4 
0.6 
1.0 
1.8 
0.7 
0.4 
26.3 

0.1 
0.3 

i.'i 

0.2 
0.5 
0.4 
0.4 
0.1 
0.2 

Rape 

Poppy  
VH.-CHAFF. 
Winter  Wheat... 

Spring  Wheat  
Winter  Spelt  
Winter  Rye  

Barley  Awns  
Oats  
Indian  Corn-cobs  
Field  Beans  

Lupine 

Rape  
Flax-seed  hulls  

VIII.  —  COM  31  EFCIAIi 
PlJLNTS,  ETC. 

Flax  Stems  
Rot  ted  Flax  Stems.... 
Flax  Fibre  ... 

Hemo  Stems  1.0 

Hops,  entire  plant....   140 
Hope                                 120 

Hop  Stems  l»iO 

Tobacco  Loaves  
Wine  and  Must  
Wine-grounds 

180 

8% 

(50 
550 
850 

180 

'/.: 

Grape  Stems,  etc  
Mulberry  Leaves  

IX.—  MATERIALS    FOB 

B-DDIKQ. 

Reed 

Sedge  Grass  
Rush 

140 
140 
560 
150 
550 
150 
475 
450 

8.0 

8"6 
5.0 

Beech  Leaves,  August. 
"           '"      Autumn. 
Oak  Leaves,  August.  . 
"        '•          Autumn. 
Fir  Needles  
Pine    "               

Moss 

',5)     ... 

Fern  
Heath 

250     ... 
200   10.0 
250     .  . 

Sea-Weed 

150 

144 
14:5 
143 
148 
143 
145 
143 
143 
140 
141 

14.0 

21.8 
23.5 
22.0 
16.0 
176 
16.0  ' 
16.0 
19.2 
20.3 

ie.o 

X.—  GRAINS  AND 
SEEDS. 

Winter  Wheat  
Spring  Wheat     . 

Spelt,  without  husk... 
Spelt,  with  husk  
Winter  Rye  
Winter  Barley  
Spring  Barley  
Oats..  . 

Millet               

Indian  Corn... 

APPENDIX. 


357 


SUBSTANCE. 

Wafer. 

^ 

Jj 

j 

1 

5 

Magnesia. 

ft 

« 

S-a 

•ST5 

fX 

&5 

"5 

§-y 

ll 
I 

Sorghum  
Buckwheat  

140 
1-10 

14  4 

lfi.0 
11  8 

3.3 

2.7 

0.5 

0.7 

0.2 
0  5 

2.4 
1  5 

ft 

02 

1.2 
0  1 

p  as  

143 

35  8 

23  5 

9  8 

0  2 

1  2 

1  9 

8  6 

0  8 

0  2 

Field  Beared  
Garden  Beans  
Vetch  .  .  .. 

H5 
150 
143 

40  8 
39.0 
44  0 

30.7 
27.4 
26  8 

13.1 
1?.0 

8  1 

04 
0.4 
2  1 

1.5 

1.8 
2  1 

2.i 

fc.O 
2  4 

11.9 
9.7 
10  0 

0.8 
1.1 

1  0 

0.2 
0.2 
0  3 

Lupiiie 

130 

56  6 

34  i 

10  2 

0  1 

3  0 

4  0 

14  3 

!1  5 

0  2 

Ked  Clover  
White  Clover  
Esp.  rsette  
Ruta  bagan  
Sugar-Beet  
Carrots  

150 

150 

160 
140 
146 
120 

30.5 

38.3 
33.8 
38.4 
48.8 
45.3 
74  8 

13.5 
12.3 
11.0 
9.1 
11.1 
14  2 

0.4 
0.2 

1.1 
8.5 
4.2 
3  5 

2.5 
2.5 
12.3 
7.6 
10.2 
29  1 

4.9 
3.9 
2.6 
8.6 
7  8 
5  0 

14.5 
11  6 
9.2 
7.6 
7.5 
11  8 

0.9 
1.6 
1.2 
2.1 
2.0 
4  2 

0.5 
0.8 
0.3 
1.1 
0.8 
4  0 

Succory  

130 

54  6 

6  5 

4  6 

17  3 

5  9 

16  5 

2  4 

0  6 

Turnips 

125 

34  6 

7  8 

0  4 

61 

3  1 

14  0 

2  5 

0  2 

Rape 

118 

31  2 

39  1 

9  6 

0  6 

55 

4  (} 

16  5 

0  9 

0  5 

Summer-Rape  

1*0 

34  9 

5  2 

4  7 

14.9 

2  3 

Mustard..  
Poppy  
Linseed  

130 

in 

m 

38.0 
32  8 

3(5.5 
52  8 
32  6 

5.9 
7.2 
10.0 

2.0 
0.5 
0.7 

7.0 
18.7 
2.6 

3.7 
5  0 
4  7 

14  6 
16.6 
13.5 

1.8 
1.0 
0  8 

0  9 

1.7 
0  4 

Hemp 

122 

26  1 

45  3 

9  4 

0.4 

10  9 

2.6 

16.9 

0.1 

5  5 

Grape-seeds  
Horse-chestnuts,  fresh 
Acorns,  fresh.  

XL—  VAF.TOUS  ANIMAL 
PRODUCTS. 

Cows1  Milk  
Sheep  "  
Cheese  

no 

492 
5JO 

875 
8(50 
450 

10.2 

5  1 
5.5 
45.3 

25.0 
12  0 
9.6 

6.2 
8.4 
67.4 

7.2 
7.1 
62 

1.5 

1.8 
2.5 

6!i 

0.6 
0.3 
26,  fi 

8.4 
1.4 
0.7 

1.3 
2.5 
6.9 

2.1 
0.1 

0.5 

0.2 
0.1 
0.2 

6.0 
2.7 
1.4 

1.7 
3.0 
11.5 

0.6 
0.3 
0.4 

o'.i 

0  3 
0  3 
0.1 

6'  2 

Ox-blood  

700 

32.0 

7.5 

0.6 

34 

0.1 

0.1 

0  4 

6.2 

0.1 

Calf-blood 

POO 

29.0 

7.1 

0.8 

2.9 

0.1 

0  1 

0.6 

0.1 

Sheep-blood  
Swine-blood 

790 
800 

32  0 
29.0 

7.5 
7.1 

0.5 
1.5 

3.3 
2  2 

0.1 
0.1 

0  1 
0.1 

0.4 
0.9 

0.1 

0.1 

... 

Ox-fle^h 

770 

36.0 

12.6 

5  2 

0.2 

0  4 

4.3 

0  4 

0.3 

Calf  flesh 

7SO 

34  9 

12  0 

4.1 

1.0 

0.2 

0  9, 

5.8 

0  1 

Swine-flesh  
Liviii"-  Ox 

740 
507 

34.7 
26.6 

10.4 
46.6 

3.9 
1.7 

0.5 
1.4 

0.8 
20.8 

0.5 
0  (i 

4  6 

18.6 

6"i 

Living  Calf  
Living  Sheep  
Living  Swine  
Eggs  
Wool,  washed  
Wool,  unwashed  

662 
591 
528 
672 
120 
150 

25.0 
22.4 
20  0 
21  8 
94.4 
54.0 

38.0 

31.7 
21  6 
61.8 
9  7 
98.8 

24 
1.5 
1.8 
1.5 

1.8 
74.6 

0.6 
1.4 
0.2 
1.4 
0  3 
1.9 

16.3 
13.2 
9.2 
54.0 
2.4 
4.2 

0.5 
0.4 
0.4 
1.0 
0.6 
1.6 

13.8 
12.3 
8.8 
8.7 
0.3 
1.1 

o'.i 

4'6 

0.1 
0.2 

6!i 

2.5 
3  0 

358  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

B.-AVERAGE  COMPOSITION  OF  VARIOUS  MANURES. 


NAME  or  FERTILIZER. 

I 

|| 

IS 

1 

s 

1 

e 

j 

Magnesia. 

H^ 

¥ 

14 

L—  ANIMAL  EXCRE- 

MENTS. 

(In  1000  parts  of  Ma- 

nure.) 

Fresh  Faeces: 

Horse  

757 

211 

31.6 

4.4 

3.5 

0.6 

1.5 

1.2 

3.5 

0.6 

19.6  0.2 

Cattle  

Sheop 

838 
655 

145     IT.  5S 

314    ai  1 

2.9    1.0 

5.5    1.5 

0.2 

1.0 

4  6 

1.5 

3.1 

1.4 

'7.5  0.3 

Swine  

820 

150 

30.0 

6.0    2.6 

O'K 

0.9 

i!o 

4.1 

0.4 

15  0  0^3 

Fresh  Urine  : 

Hor^e   

oni 

71     28.0 

15.5  15  0  2.5 

4  5 

2  4 

0  6 

0815 

Cattle  938 

35    27.4 

5.8    4  9   64 

0  1 

0.4 

1.3 

0  3  3.8 

Sher'p      '872 

83    45.2 

19.552  0   5.4 

1.6 

3.4 

6!l  3  0 

0165 

Swine                          i  OAT 

28     15  ft 

4.3    8  a  *>'i 

0.8 

0.7,0  8 

2.3 

Fresh  Dung  (with 

*° 

! 

straw:)* 

Horse           .... 

71  a 

2Kd 

32  fi 

5.8    5.3  1.0 

2.1 

1  4 

2.8  0.7 

17.7  0.4 

Cattle  1775    203    21.8 

3  4   4.0  14 

3.1 

1.1 

1.6  0.6 

8.5  1.0 

Sheep              ..            646    318    35  6 

83   6722 

o   q 

1  8 

2.3  1.5 

14  7  1.7 

Swine  724   250    25.6 

4.5    6.0  20 

o!s 

0.9 

1.9!  0.8 

10.8  1.7 

Common     Barn-yard 

Manure  : 

1 

Fresh 

71  n 

94fi     M.  1 

45   5.2 

1  5    5.7  1.4    2  1  1.2 

12  fi 

1  5 

Moderately  rotted..   750    192     5o.O 

5.0    6.3 

l'.9\  7.0  1.8    2  6  1.6  \16.8 

1.9 

Thoroughly  rotted..  790    145     65  0 

5.8    5.0 

1  3(  8.8  1.8    3.0.1.3 

17.0 

1.6 

Drainage  from  Barn- 

yard Manure  982 

7 

10.7 

1.5   4.9 

1.0    0.3  0.4    0.1 

0.7 

0.2 

1.2 

Human  Faeces,  fresh.  772   198    29.9 

10.0    2.5 

1.6 

6.2  3.6  10.9  0.8 

1.9 

0.4 

Urine,      "        963 

24     135 

6.0   2  0 

4  6 

0.2  0.2     1.7  0.4 

5.0 

Mixed  human    excre- 

\ 

ni'-nts.  frosh   j  933 

51 

16  0 

7.0    2  1 

3.8   0.9;0.6    2.6 

0.5 

0.2 

4.0 

Mixed  hunrin    excre-1 

mcntp.  mosMy  liquid  955 

30     15  0 

3.5    2.0  4  0     1.0  0.6    2.8  0.4 

0.2 

4.3 

Dove  Manure,  fre^b...  519   308  173.0    17.610.0  0.7 

16.0  5.0  17  S  3.3 

20  2 

Hen        "             "     ..560    255  185.0    16.3    8.5  1.0 

24.0  7.4  15.4  4.5 

35.2 

Duck     "             "      ..   566    262  172.0    10.0    6.2  0.5 

17.0  3  5  14.013.5 

28.0 

Geese    "             "     ..  771    134 

95.0     5.5 

9.5 

1.3    8.4 

2.0 

5.4 

1.4 

14.0 

.. 

II.—  COMMERCIAL  MA- 

NURES. 

(In  100  parts  of  Fer- 

tilizer.) 

Peruvian  Guano  14.851.4J  33.8   13.0 

2.3 

1  4 

11.0 

1.2 

13  0 

1.0 

3.7 

1.8 

Norway  Fish-Guano..  12.653.4   34.0     9.0 

0.3 

0  9  15  4 

0.6  13.5  0  3 

1.6 

1.1 

Poudrcttii  24.027.0 

49.0     2.0 

0.9 

1.0.18.6 

05 

2.1  1.0 

5.4 

1  5 

Pulverized  Dead  Ani- 

mals                             5  7  58  9 

37  4      fi.5 

0.3 

0  8  18.2 

0.4  13  9  1.0 

1.7 

0.2 

Flesh-Meal             ....278566    15.6     9.7 

7.0 

0.3    6.3  0.1 

1.1 

Dried  Blood  14  079.0 

7.0    11.7 

6'.  7 

0.6    0.7 

0.1 

1.0  0.4 

2.1 

OA 

Horn-Meal  and  Shav- 

\ 

ings  8.568.5 

25.0    10.2 

6.6 

0.3 

5.5  0.9 

11.0 

Bone-Meal  6.0  33.  3   60.7     3.8 

6^2 

0.3  81.  3'  1  0  23.2  0.1 

3.5  0.3 

*  It  is  estimated  that  in  the  case  of  horses,  cattle,  and  swine,  one-third  of  the 
nrine  drains  away.  The  following  is  the  amount  of  wheat-straw  used  daily  as 
beddin«-  for  each  animal.  Horse,  6  Ibs. ;  Cattle,  Slbs. ;  Swine,  4  Ibs.,  and  sheep, 
0.6  lbs.° 


APPENDIX. 


359 


NAME  or  FERTILIZER. 

i 

i 

1 

|  Nitrogen. 

Potash. 

I 

i 

1 

1 

i  1'liosphoric 
Acid. 

Sulphuric 
Acid. 

i' 

\  Chlorine 
\  and  Florine. 

(In  100  parts.) 
Bone  Meal  from  solid 
parts              .      ... 

5.0 
7.0 

6  0 

10.0 
6.0 
10.0 
11.8 
0  6 
8.5 
2.6 

2.6 
9  5 

31.5 
37.3 

10  0 
6.0 
3.0 
9.2 

8.2 

5'.4 

63.5 
55.7 

84.0 
84.0 
91.0 
81.0 
80.0 

9l!5 
92.0 

97.4 
97.5 

3.5 

4.0 

1.0 
0.5 

O'A 

0.1 

0.1 
O.- 
O.I 
0.1 
0.3 
0.2 
0.4 
0.7 

0.8 

0  7 

0.2 
0.3 

0.3 

0.2 
0.6 
1.2 
0.3 
0.3 
0.8 

0.4 
0  4 

33  0 
29.0 

43  0 
37.0 
46.0 
41.5 
39.1 
48.1 
43.5 
37.5 

45.1 
40  1 

1.0 
1.0 

1.1 
1.1 
1.2 
1.5 
0  5 
0.1 
0.6 
0.6 

0.2 
0  ? 

25.2 
20.0 

32  0 
£0.0 
35.4 
34.  S 
20.6 
37.0 
35.0 

as.  2 

33.0 
94  1 

0.1 
0.1 

0.4 
0  4 
0.4 
1.5 
18.0 
0.2 
0.5 
0.5 

0.3 

3.0 
3.5 

5.0 
15.0 

6.5 
0.8 
0.5 
9.0 
1.0 
5.0 

5.5 

qO  8 

0,2 
0.2 

6'.3 
0.2 
1.5 
0.6 
0.1 

3.1 
1.5 

Bone-Meal  from  soft 
parts  
Bone-black,   before 
usod  

Bon;  -black,  spent  
Bone  asti 

Baker  Guano 
Jar  vis  Guano  

Estremadura  Apatite.. 
Sombrero  Phosphate. 
Navassa  Phosphate.  .  . 
Nassau    Phosphorite, 
rich  
Nassau    Phosphorite, 
medium 

Westphalian       Phos- 
phorite 

6.5 
2.0 

1.6 
3.5 

91.8 
94.5 
95.7 

•• 

6.3 

0.5 
0.1 

21.8 
37.2 
15.4 
0.5 
0.2 
1  4 
20.5 
3.0 
1.2 
31  0 

0.9 
02 
1.0 

2IK2 

20.4 

1.0 
0.5 
0  8 

58  0 
0  7 

23.0 
3.3 
7.5 
3.0 
1  5 

1.6 
1.5 

0.1 
1.4 
1.7 

Hanover  Phosphorite 
Coprolites 

Sulphate  of  Ammonia. 
Nitrate  of  Soda  
Wool  -dust  and  oflal.. 
Lime-cake  
Whale-oil  refuse  
Common  Salt      ..  . 

4.0 
2.6 
10.0 
6.5 
23.0 
5  0 

56*0 
47.0 
68.4 

46^5 
8.6 
95.0 

20.0 
15  5 
5.2 
3.1 
5.7 

0.3 
2.4 
0.2 
0.2 
0  1 

1.3 

3.0 
2.3 

0.5 

IA 

44.0 
12.5 
0.3 
0.8 
0.3 
1.7 

1.6 

l.fl 
1.3 

8.5 
5.0 

15.0 
28  5 
28.5 
25.5 
19.5 

25.5 

19.5 
21.0 
19.5 

28.8 

29  0 
8.0 
3.0 
2.0 
4.0 
3.0 
9.1 
20.0 
4.0 
16.0 

18.0 
18.0 

1.5 
0.9 
5.3 
0.6 

2  a 

3.2 

13.5 
9.3 

2.5 

3  0 

0.2 

48'.  2 

0.3 

0.3 
0.2 

1.1 

0.2 
0.9 
0.4 

1.8 
1.3 
6'.  2 
0  9 

Gypsum  or  Plaster.... 
Gas-lime        

20.0 
7.0 
34  5 
20.0 
5.0 
5.0 

f)  0 

i'.s 

24.5 
5.0 

71.8 
70  2 

*>  0 

80.8 
91.7 
41.0 
75.0 
23  2 
24  8 

90.0 

04 
1.2 

2!5 

0.2 
0.2 
2.5 
2.4 
0.1 

10.0 

6.0 
1.5 
0.5 
0.1 

2.0 
0.1 
0.4 

0.5 
0.3 

0  3 

6.6 
1.3 
0.5 

2.5 

2.0 
0  8 
0.4 
0.1 

1.2 

0.8 
0.2 
0.5 

0.2 

0.1 

0.1 
0.2 

0.4 

64.5 
20.7 
24.5 
10.0 
4.0 

30.0 
35.0 

9.5 
25  9 
28.2 
26  4 
17.0 

26  5 

24.2 
25.0 
22.4 

24.0 

1.5 
0.3 
2.5 
1.5 
1.5 

5.0 

6.0 
1.5 
3.2 
3.0 

1.0 
0.9 
0.1 
0.4 
0.3 

0.1 

0.1 
0  7 
0.7 

Is 

0.4 

6.5 

4.5 
0.6 
0.2 
0.1 

10.5 

21.8 
22.1 

20  2 
15  4 

19.4 

16.6 
16.2 
16.6 

20.5 

Sugar-House  Scum.  .  . 
Leached  \vood  ashes.  . 
Wood-soot  
Coal-soot  

Ashes  from  Deciduous 
trees 

Ashes  from  Evergreen 
trees  

Pr>at  a^hes 

5.0 

5  0 

5.0 

90.0 
95.0 

.. 

Bituminous  coal-ashes 
Anthracite  coal-ashes. 

III.  —  STTPEBPIIOS- 
PHATE,  from 

Peruvian  Guano. 

5.0 
5.0 

16.0 
15.0 
15.0 
15.0 
15.0 

15  0 

5^0 

41.9 
6.2 

2'.  5 

95.0 
90.0 

42.1 

78.8 
85.0 
83.0 

82.5 

85.0 

10.0 
0.3 

Baker  Guano  
Estremadura  Apatite.. 
Sombrero  Phosphate. 
Navassa  Phosphate... 
Nassau  Phosphorite, 
rich        

Nassau  Phosphorite, 
medium  
Bone-black  

12.0    ., 
15.0    8.0 
13.023.8 

15  5  13.0 

88.0 
77.0 
63.2 

80.3 

6*3 

2.0 

3.3 

Bonc-Meal  

Phosph  o-guano 
(manufactured.)  ... 

3GO 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


2.— TABLE   SHOWING    THE   DISTRIBUTION    OF   INGREDIENTS 
IN    SOME    MANUFACTURING    PROCESSES. 


NAMB  OF  MATERIAL. 

•§  . 

$8 

*l 

i$ 

1 

1 

} 

1 

e| 

1 

fe  -~° 

P 
§* 

Ibs. 
7.71 
0.168 

0.284 
0.653 
3.  631 
0.06-2 
1.3-19 
0.5J39 

1  .63 

0.388 
0.194 
2.212 

6.710 
1.5*6 
0.382 
8.618 

5.876 
£.801 

2.672 
6.005 

1.63 

OJ35 
1.497 

7.94 

2.862 
0.926 
4.102 

1.735 

1.131 
0.584 

0.780 

0.144 
0.165 
0.38-1 
0  015 
O.G'<2 

3  990 

3.400 
0.474 
0.126 

1.  —  BREWING. 
1000  Ibs.  Barley,  contain  

Ibs. 
855 

13  •> 

Ibs. 

15.2 

Ibs 
22  23 
1.00 

1  23 
2.43 

18.08 
0.54 
2.27 
3.65 

9.43 

1.06 
0.53 
11.02 

14.37 
5.12 
1.23 
20.72 

12.53 

7.67 

3.41 
16.79 

9.43 
0.54 

8.89 

:G.GS 

5.  no 
1  81 
9.60 

6.10 

2.84 
3.26 

7.10 

1.15 
1.71 
1.20 
2.47 
0.57 

30.36 

25.15 

4  03 
1.2-2 

Ibs. 
4.48 
0.345 

0.852 
0.749 
0.580 
0.023 
O.C43 
1.JW8 

5.69 

0.184 
0.092 
5.966 

4.501 
0  883 
0  221 
5  605 

3.941 
1  325 

1.273 
3.9'J3 

5.69 
0.086 
5.604 

5.26 

1.980 

0.r>-<8 
2.67* 

1.505 

0.247 
1.258 

3.914 

o.ase 

0.5^5 
0.380 
1.741 
0.872 

9.426 

9.175 
0.171 

.0.051 

Ibs. 
0.58 
0.167 

0.039 
0.0(59 
1.474 

0.1(50 

0.097 

0.24 

O.C40 
0  020 
0.300 

0.376 
0  195 
0.049 
0.620 

0.329 
0.293 

0.19-1 
0.430 

0.24 

0.266 

0.57. 

0.154 
0.050 
0.890 

1.333 

0.687 
0.646 

0.379 

0.108 
0.390 
8.640 
0.141 

6.751 

4.100 
2.052 
0  648 

Ibs. 
1.92 
0.056 

0.045 
0.066 
1.134 
0.055 
0.185 
0.484 

0.44 

0.088 
0.044 
0.572 

1  648 
0.429 
0.107 
2.184 

1  444 
0.643 

0.367 
1.720 

0.44 
0.042 
O.o98 

2.02 

0.458 
0.148 
1.394 

0.186 

0.028 
0.158 

0.536 

0.132 
0.105 
0  240 
0.009 
0.040 

1.995 

1.850 
0.0% 
0.054 

15    "    Hops          "         

Distribution  of  the  Ingredients  : 
Water  ..  .  . 

Malt-Sprouts    

33     1.88 

263     8.74 
9 

Yeast  
Beer  

30 

2.94 
2.14 

3.2 
0  56 

0.28 
4.04 

14.08 
2.82 
0.71 
1,  .61 

12.32 
4.Si3 

4.60 
11.95 

3.20 
O.CO 
2.60 

20.80 
14.65 

i!c4 

4.51 

4.80 

4.53 
0.27 

1.60 

0.24 
0.44 
0.60 
0.32 

2.—  DISTILLERY. 
a.  1000  Ibs.  Potatoes,  contain  
40    "    K^n-Malt        .     ... 

250 
87 
18.5 
125 

681 
184 
46 
443 

599 
276 

45 
325 

250 
75 
45 

857 

664 

58 
135 

125 

G5 
60 

184 

19 
46 
24 
25 

85 

860 

215 
460 
155 

20    u    Yeas-Malt 

The  Slump  contains     

(b.)  Grain  Spirits. 
800  Ibs  Rye  contain             . 

200    "  Kiln-Malt,  contain  

50    "  Yeast-Malt       " 

The  Slump,                  "        

3.—  YEAST  MANUFACTURE. 
700  Ibs.  bruised  Rye,  contain  
800    "    Barley-Malt, 
Distribution  of  the  Ingredients  : 
Yeast 

Grains  and  Slump     .        

4.—  STARCH  MANUFACTURE. 
1000  Ibs  Potatoes  contain  

The  remains  in  the  Fibre 

"       "            u      Water  

5.  —  MILLING. 
1000  Tb*i  Wheat  contain 

Distribution  of  the  Ingredients  : 
Flour         i  77  5  per  cent)  

Mill-feed  (65        "       )          .  •.. 

Bran         (160       "       )  

6.—  CHEESE-MAKING. 
1000  Ibs   Milk  contain  

Distribution  of  the  Ingredients  : 

Whey                     

7.—  BEET-SUGAR  MANUFACTURE. 
1000  Ibs  Root1*  cootiin 

Distribution  of  the  Ingredients: 
Tops  and  Tails  (12  per  cent  of 
roots)                            

Pomace  (15  per  cent  of  roots)  
Skimmings  (4  per  cent  of  roots).  . 
Molasses  (3  per  cent  of  roots)  

8.—  FLAX  DRESSING. 
1000  Ibs.  Flax-Stalks,  contain... 
Distribution  of  the  Ingredients  : 
In  the  Water 

Flax  and  Tow  

INDEX. 


Absorptive  Powers  of  Soils 217 

Ammonia  Absorbed  by  Soil  from 

the  Atmosphere 219 

Ammonia  and  Superphosphate 212 

andWeeds 254 

"         Converted     into     Nitric 

Acid  in  the  Soil 313 

forOats 253-254 

for  Potatoes 261 

for  Wheat 192-213 

"        in  Fresh  Horse-dung —  % 
"        in  Limed  and  Unlimed 

Soils 220 

"        in  the  Soil  Liberated  by 

Lime 221 

"         Locked  Up  in  the  Soil... 221 
*'        Loss  of  by   Fermenting 

Manure 98 

"        on  C4rass  Land 273 

Potential 31 

*'         Quantity  of  to  Produce 
One  Bushel  of  Wheat, 

211-212 
"        Required  to   Produce  a 

Bushel  of  Barley.. 240-242 

"        Retained  by  the  Soil 213 

"         Salts,  Composition  of... .312 
"  "      How    to    Apply, 

286-312 

"             "      for   Private  Gar- 
dens  297 

Aiderson,  J.  M.  B.,  Letter  from..  .345 
Animals,  Composition  of   Manure 

from  Different 306 

"         What  They  Remove  from 

th^Food 391 

Apple  Trees.  Nitrate  of  Snda  for... 314 
Artificial  Manures,  Will  They  Pay..214 

Ash  jss,  Burnt  Earth : .     ...  72 

"      Cjal 72 

"       for  Barley 241 

"      for  Indian  Corn 279 

"      for  Oats 2:3 

"       for  Potatoes 239 

"      of  Manure  for  Wheat 173 

"      on  Long  Island 346 

"       Plaster  and  Hen-dung   for 

Potatoes 255 

"      Wood 104 

Barley  After  Ten  Crops  of  Turnips. 250 

"•      a  Larcp  Yield  of 242 

"      and  Clover  after  a  heavily- 
manured  Root-crop 287 

"     Best  Soil  for 227 

•*      Cost  of  Raising  With  and 

Without  Manure. . .  246 

361 


,  Barley,Lawcs'  and  Gilbert's  Experi- 
ments ou .     22*< 

"      Potash  Increases  the  Crop  of 

at  Itotiiarasted 3^9 

"      Profits  of  Raising  in  Po.r 

Seasons 243 

"      Quality  and  Price  of 242 

"      \ieldPerAcre 11 

Barn-yard    Manure,    Difference   in 

Quality  of 246 

I  Bcitu-etraw  for  Manure  .     .  48 

Bouts,  Sugar,  Lawes'  and  Gilbert's 

Experiments  on. .  .288 

"          "          imdiiure  fur 286 

Blood 3-3 

Jjouu-dust 314 

"  Composition  of  Com- 
pared with  Stable  Ma- 
nure  316 

1   Fermented  with  Manure.31<i 
li    Made    into     Superphos- 
phate  319 

**        "on  Dairy  Farms 31 5 

Pones  as  Manure 1C2 

Bran 21 

••     for  Manuro 102 

"     Richer    in    Plant-food   than 

Wheat 301 

Brewer,  Prof.  W.  H.,  Letter  from..3il 
Cabbage   and    Barn-yard    Manure, 

Composition  of 292 

"          Composition  of 290-293 

"          Hog  and  Cow  Manure  f or.3C2 

Lime  for 2C2 

Manure  for 275-590 

"         llanure    for    Early  and 

Late 291 

"  Needs  a  Large  Supply  <  f 
Nitrogen  In  the  Soil, 
Though  it  Removes 
but  Little...  ...^3 

Potash  for i93 

'•          Special  Manure  for 323 

"         Yield  of  per  Acre 291 

Cattle  vs.  Sheep  as  Manure-makers. 803 

Ciicose,  from  a  Ton  of  Hay Ill 

Plant-food  in 101 

"       versus  Beef 110 

Clay  Retains  Ammonia 219 

Clover  and  Indian  Corn 275 

**      as   a    Renovating   and  Ex- 
hausting Crop.. 277 

"     as  Manure 119-122 

"      as  Manure  for  Wheat 158 

M      Does  it  Get  Nitrogen  from 
the  Atmosphere. .... .133-138 


362 


INDEX. 


Clover,  Dr.  Vcelckcr's  Experiments 

on 135 

for  Wheat 126 

"      Gathers  Up  Manure  from  the 

Sub-soil 237 

Hay,  Composition  of.  ...129-137 
"      Hay,  English  and  German, 

for  Manure 47 

"      How  to  Make  a  farm  Rich 

by  Growing 133-163 

"      Letting  it  Rot  on  the  Sur- 
face as  Manure 134 

Nitrogen  as  a  Manure  for. . .  141 
"      Pasturing   by  Sheep  versus 

Mowing  for  Hay 137 

"      Plowing  Cnuer  versus  Feed- 
ing Out 123 

"      Hoots,  Amount  of  per  Acre, 

143-144-155 

"      Roots,  Composition  of . .  145-147 
"      Seed,  Amount  of  Roots  per 

Acre 162 

"      Water  Evaporated  by 132 

"      Why  it  Enriches  Land 131 

Coal-a-bes  to  Mix  with  Artificial 

Manures 312 

Composting      Cow-manure      \\ith 

Muck.  Leaves,  etc 302 

Compost    of     Stable -manur o    aiul 

Earth 342 

Corn,  as  a  Renovating  Crop *75 

"      Ashes  for 271 

"      Barn-yard  Manure  for 22 1 

"     Cost  of  Raising 9 

"      Crop,  Compos. tion  of 25 

"      Experiments  on 279 

"      Guano  for 279-2S4 

"      Manure  for 2^5 

"      Meal  for  Manure 185 

"      Suporphosphato  for £79-201 

"      Fodder 275 

u     vs.  Mangcl-v.-urzels. . .  238 

"     Plaster  for.       *i'7 

"  "     vs.  Wheat,  Yield  per 

acre -...  2"3 

Crops  Best  to  Apply  Manure  to 25 

'•     How  to  Get  Larger £8-^6 

"     Raised   and  Sold  from   the 

Farm 27 

"     Rotation  of 113-163 

"     We  Muot  Raise  Larger  per 

Acre 266 

"     Why  so  Poor 28 

Cotton-seed  Cuke 4:;-339 

Cow-manure 86-100 

11         "        and  How  to  Use  it.... 302 

"          "        Composition  of 3  '6 

Cows,  Feeding  Grain  to 110-113 

t-     Feeding  in  Winter  for  Ma- 
nure  256 

Dairy  Farms,  Bone-dust  on 315 

Drainage  from  Barn-yard 306 

Dry  Earth  for  Pig  Pens 804 

Earth-closet  Manure 310 

"       on  Grass Z~5 

Pallow,Fall 12 

"     for  Wheat,   How   to  — Mr. 

Lawes'  Experiments 35 

"     Summer,  for  Wheat 15-34 


Farm  Dairj,  Receipts  r,nd  Erpen^s 

of 109 

Hon.  George  Geddes' 11  j 

•     Hon.  Joseph  Shull's 109 

John  Johnston's  7u-8l-l5iO 

"     Mr.  Dewey's i,9 

1     Mr.  Joseph  O.  Sheldon's.  . .     15 

"     to  Restore  a  Worn  Out , .  o i 

Farming,  a  Poor  Business 9 

Difference  Between  llig.i 

and  Good  11 

"         Faith  in  Good 14 

"         Good  Does  Not  Lead  to 

Overproduction 14 

"         SlowWork •.  17 

Fermenting  Manure  to  Kill  Weed- 
Seeds 97 

Fish  as  Manure 347V 

Food,  Nothing  Added  to  it  by  the 

Animal 42 

Gardens,  Manure  for  Private £9j 

Geddes,  Hon.  George 17-117 

Grains,  Malt,  English  and  German.  47 

Grass  a  Saving's  Bank        41 

"     Importance  of  Rich 113 

"     Miuuire  for 120 

Guano  as  a  Top-dressing  *or  Wheat. 270 

f';-r  Barley 240 

"      fa-Oats S53 

u      fi-r  Peas 17 

for  Potatoes: 255-258 

on  Wheat 1LO-180-184 

Peruvian,  Ccinpo«ltton  of.. 311 

for  Onions 2i>i 

Prico  and  Compo- 
sition  of   No  .7 
and30YVsAro.327 
Rt-ctifled  for  Tur- 
nips....  286 

"  "          What  it  i« 311 

Gypsum J;<4-116-128 

forO^ts 2:4 

"       for  Peas 17 

"       for  Potatoes ..255-2.:.! 

Fnrison,  T.  L.,  Letter  from 1:5 

Lay,  Bo.-'t  Manure  for  24 

"     Plant-food  in ,...1C1 

IToacock,  Jos-ph,  Letter  from 348 

Henderson,  Peter,  Letter  fro:n 344 

lien  Manure 43-104-::ol 

"          "      for  Potatoes £o5 

High  Farming 13 

'k  "        versus  Good  Farming  11 

Fops,  Manure  for 274 

Horse-manure,  Composition  of.  . .  .3C8 

Hot-beds.  Manure  for 277 

Human  Excrements,   Composition 

of 308 

Indian  Corn.    See  Corn 

Irrigation  on  Market  Gardi  ns 295 

Jessup,  Edward,  Letter  from 342 

Johnson,  Prof.  S.  W.,  on  the  Value 

of  Fertilizers 324 

Lawes1  and  Gilbert's  Experiments 

on  Barley 22Y 

Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  Experiments 

on  Oats 252 

Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  Experiments 
on  Permanent  Meadows 271 


INDEX. 


Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  Experiments 
on   the  Amount  of  Excrements 

Voided  by  Man 309 

Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  Experiments 
oil  Sugar  beets  and  Maugel-wur- 

zels.... 288 

Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  Experiments 

on  Wheat 170 

Lawes'  aiid  Gilbert's  Experiments, 

Potash  Beneficial  for  barley 329 

Lawes'   Table,    Showing  C.  uiposi- 

tion  and  Value  of  Foods 45 

Leuuce,  Manure  for 289 

Superphosphate  for. . .  290-293 
Lewis,  Hon.  Harris,  Letter  from — 103 

Liebig's  Special  Manures 321 

Lime  as  Manure 215 

•k     Beneficial  Effect  of  for  Thirty 

Years 216 

•     Changes   the    Chemical    and 
Physical  Character  of   the 

Soil 224 

"     Composting  with  O,d  Sods. .  .2xM 

"•     for  Cabbage 29^ 

"     Hastens  tiie  Maturity  of  the 

Crop 222 

"     Impoverishes  the  Soil 222 

u      in  Connecticut 224 

"     in  Delaware 223 

"     in  New  Jersey 2C3 

"     in  Pennsylvania 224 

"     llixed    with    Barn-yard   Ma- 
nure  222 

"     rn  Grass  Land 223 

"     on  Lime-stone  Land 217 

"      Quantity  per  Acre 216 

"     Sets  Free  Ammonia   in   the 

Soil 221 

"     Silicate    Absorbs    Ammonia 

from  Atmosphere 219 

"     When  to  Apply 223 

"     WThy  Beneficial ii20 

Liquid  Majiure 30(i 

Lowland,  Draining 30 

Malt-combs.- 46 

Maugcl-wurzels  for  Manure 48 

Manure  forlC3-£86-28S 

"       Yield  per  Acre 11 

Manure  Absorbing  Liquid 115 

'•       Amount    from   Feed    and 

Bedding  73 

"       Araount  Made  by  a  Horse 

CO-346 
"  "        Made  by   Horses,  ' 

Cows,  Sheep,  and  Pigs. . .  51 
"       Amount  Made  on  a  250-acre 

Farm 257 

Amount  of  Rain  Required 

to  Dissolve 267 

"       Amount  of  Straw  in  Horse, 346 

and  Rotati'  n  of  Crops 246 

Applying  Artificial 312 

Applying  Near  the  Surface. 267 
Applying  on  the  Surface.. .173 

as  Top-dressing 2'.'9 

"       Barn-yard  for  Barley 240 

"       Barn-yard  vs.  Artificial  for 

Indian  Corn 284 

"       Basin  for 9,3 


Mannre  Best  for  Hay 274 

•k       Bone-dust al-i-316 

Brings  in  Red  Clover 82 

Buying 306 

Buying     by     Measure    or 

Weight 305 

Buying  by  the  Load  or  Ton.306 

Cellar 114 

Cheapest  a  Farmer  Can  Use.127 

Clover  as 119-122 

Clover-seed  as 127 

Comes  from  the  Laud 42 

Common  Salt  as ...200 

Composition  of  Fresh  Barn- 
yard   ! 51 

Composition  of  from  Dif- 
ferent Animals 306 

Composition    of    Heap   at 

Different  Periods 57 

Corn-meal  lor 1 85 

Cost  of  Hauling 342 

Cost  of  Loading  and  Draw- 
ing    --,7 

Cow 87-110 

Dairy-farm,  How   to    Save 

and  Apply 114 

Dr.  Vcelcker's  Experiments 

on 51 

Drawing  Oat  to  the  Field..  89 
English  Plan  of  Keeping. . .  6J 

Equivalent  to  Water 2W 

Farm-yard  for  Potatoes  . . .  261 
Fermenting  in  Winter.85-92  93 
Fermenting,  Shrinkage  in.. 116 

Fire-fang S-,-,,8 

Fish,  as,  on  Long  Island. .  S.,7 
Foods  which  Make  Rich ....  45 
for      Cabbage,     Parsnips, 
Onions,  Carrots,  Lettuce, 

etc S89 

for  Corn 80 

f  <  r  Grass 82 

for  Hops 274 

for  Hot-beds 297 

for  Indian  Coin 275 

lor     Mangel-wuizels     and 

Sugar-beets £87 

for  Market  Gardens 21)4 

for  Oats -212 

for  Potatoes 255 

for  Seed-growing  Farms. .  .ii96 
for  Sorghum  or  Chinese 

Sugar-cane 283 

for  Tobacco 2";5 

for  Turnips i:85-3'22 

(or  Wheat 167 

from  Cows 202 

from  Earth-c.oset 310 

from  Oxen     303 

from  Pigs.  Mr.  Lawes'  Ex- 
periments  301 

from  Sheep 303 

Grain  Farms,  Management 

of 117 

Guano,  Price  of  Fow  and 

Thirty  Years  Ago 328 

Guano,  Rectified  Peruvian.319 

Gypsum  and  Clover  as 125 

lleap,  Changes  in 67 


3G4 


J.Ianuro  II  M^,  Fermenting L3 

'*      in  Winter 84 

"       Piling  in  Fie!d..83^8iMK) 

"          "      Turning 83 

"       Hen 43-104-S01 

Horse        32-8j 

"       Horse  and  Farm-vard 53 

*•       How  and  When  "it  Should 

be  Applied 207 

*'       How  John  Johnston  M..n- 

agesit 76 

"       How  Made    and    Used   iu 

Maryland 349 

"       How  the  Deacon  Makes  it..  71 

"       How  to  Make 41 

"       How  to  Make  More 25  j 

"       How  to  Make  More  and  Bet- 
ter on  Dairy  Farms 105 

"       How  to  Make  Poor,  Rich, 

274-293 

"       How  to  Make  Richer 25? 

"       How  Much  it  Shrinks  by 

Fermentation 342 

"       How  Much   Nitrogen  in  a 

Load  of 303 

"       in  Kansas 340 

4i       in   Philadelphia,    Interest- 
ing Facts 333 

"       Keeping  Under  Cover 5 ) 

Lime  as 215 

"       Liquid -..    ..  38 

"       Management  of  in  Canada. 3JJ 
"       Mr.    Lawes'    Experiments 

with 95 

"       Loss  from  Leaching <)'.) 

"       Management  of 91 

"       Market  Value  of 104 

11       Mixed  with  Lime 222 

"       Natural 23 

"       Night-soilas 303 

"       Nitrate  of  Soda  as 131 

"       Not  Available 95 

"       on  Dairy  Farm 101 

"       on    Permanent    Meadows 

and  Pastures 271 

u       Preserved  by  the  Soil 177 

"       Pigs' 85 

"       Piling 116 

"       Potasn  as 329 

"       Price  of  in  Boston 34 

"     Maryland 3JJ 

"  "       "     New  Haven 3il 

"     New  York 334 

"  "     per    Horse   in    New 

York        336 

"       Quantity  Made  on  a  Farm..  12 
"       Quantity  of  Used  on  Long 
Island.    Interesting  Sta- 
tistic-!  336 

Reduced  bv  Fermentation. 2.;7 
"       Richer  in  'Plant-food  than 
the  Food  from  which  it  is 

Derived 3"! 

"       Sea-weedas 337 

"       Sheep 86 

•'       Should  be  Broken  Up  Fine .  2(58 

"       Soluble  Phosphates  in 72 

"       Special 140-320 


Manure,  Specific   Gravity  of  from 

Different  Animah,  ......  305 

Spread  in  Open  Yard  .....  63 

Stable,  Management  ......  Si3 

Straw  and  Cuaff  as  .........  <aJO 

''       Superpao&paate,  liow 

Made...   .....  ..........  317 

"       S  \\amp-Mucii  as  ...........  29 

"       Tank  .......................  115 

the  Author's  Plan  of  Man- 
aging ....................  83 

Tillage  as  ...........  3  J-l*  1-225 

"       Tjp-dressiug  for  \Vheat  in 

Kansas...   350 
"          ;t          "        on    Growing 

Cr:>-)S  ......  343 

"       to  What  Crops  Should  it  be 

Applied  ..................  265 

"       Value  of  ...................  78 

"       Value  of  Depends  on  the 

Food,  Not  on  tlie  Animal.  43 
"       Value  of  Straw  as  .........  123 

"       Waterin  ...................  124 

"       Vfeedsas  ......  ...   ........  24 

"       \7eightof  .............  343-350 

"       Well-rotted,     Composition 

of  ........  .......  ..  .......  65 

"       Well-rotted,     Loss      from 

Leaching  ................  65 

"       What  is  it?  .............  19-22 

Why  Do  We  Ferment?....  94 

llai'kct  Gardens,  Irrigation  in  ......  295 

"         Manure  for  ......  294 

"         Pig-manure  oil..  235 
Moadows,  Manure  for  .............  271 

Ni-ht  soil  .....................  2S5-S08 

Nitrate  of  Potash  .................  312 

Nitrate  of  Soda  ....................  134 

lk    Acts  Quicker   tiiau 
Ammonia  .  .....  S13 

"  "    as   a    Top-drcssiug 

for  Wheat  ........  270 

Composition  of  ____  3  2 

ior  Applo  Trees..  ..314 

fur  Bariey  ..........  243 

forO.its  ........    ..  2.:J 

f  >r  Onions...  291 

for  Sugar-Beets  ____  2~1) 

for  Wheat  ..........  159 

"    How  to  Apply  .....  312 

341 
Nitrogen,  Amount  per  Acre  in  the 

Soil  .................  28-16'? 

"         as  Manure  ...............  28 

in  Soils  ......  106-226-336-341 

"         Makes      Poor      Manure 

Rich  ...................  "46 

Nurseryman.  Manure  for  .........  207 

(,atrf,  Experiments  on  in  Virginia..  -53 
';     Experiments  on  at  Moreton 

Farm  .......................  254 

"     Lawes1  and  Gilbert's  Experi- 

ments on  ...................  252 

"     Manures  for  ..................  252 

Oil-cake  for  Sheep  ..................  76 

Onions,  Manure  for  ...............  294 

Peas  for  Pigs  .......................  17 

Pea-straw  for  Manure  ..............  48 


Nitric  Acid 


INDEX. 


365 


Peat,  Composition  of 31 

Phosphates 27 

"         Exhaustion  of  on  Dairy 

Farms 101 

"          Soluble    in    Barn-yard 

Manure 72 

Phosphoric  Acid  in  Soils 106-2*6 

per  Aero  in  Soils.  Ib2 
"  '*     Retained    by   the 

Soil 219 

"  "    Hern*  ved  from  the 

Farm  bvHav,  and  byMiic  i  CJows.316 

Pig  Manure..": 43-8o 

•'         Composition  of 3UJ 

"        "         for  Cabbage 802 

Pigs  as  Manure-Makers  for  Market 

Gardeners 235 

Pigs'  Bedding 31 

•'    for  Enriching  Pasture-Land. . .391 
"   How  to  Save  Manure  from.   .  .3>4 

"    Manure  from L01-:D4 

Piling  Manure _ 57 

Plant  food 21-105 

"     Amount  of  in  an  Acre.24-3J 
"       "     in  New  and  Cultivated 

Land £9 

Plaster  for  Indian  Corn. 277 

Plowing  in  the  Fall 17 

Potash,"  Amount  of  in  the  Soil    25-329 

•*       as  Manure 3.9 

"       as  Manure  for  Wheat 215 

"       for  Cabbages . .  .292 

"       for  Potatoes 255-L6J 

u  for  Potatoes  and  Boot- 
Crops 330 

u       now  to  Ascertain  when  the 

Soil  Needs 3~0 

"       in  Nitrate  of  Potash 314 

"       Not  a  Special'  Manure  for 

Turnips "22 

"       on  Grass  Land 2.3 

"  our  Soils  not  so  likely  to  be 
Deficient  in,  as  of  Nitro- 
gen  and  Phosphoric  Aciu. 3^0 

1 '       Retained  by  the  Soil 219 

'•  Value  of  in  Artificial  Ma- 
nures  32'i 

Potatoes,  after  Root-Crops 2o7 

*•        Ammonia  for 2  1 

Cost  of  Raising 10 

"        Experiments  on  at  More- 
ton  Farm 259 

"        for  Manure 48 

"        How   to   Raise   a  Large 

Crop 255 

"        Manures  for 255 

"        Mr.  Hunter's  Experiments 

on  in  England 260 

"         on  Rich  Land 263 

"        Profits  of  Using  Artificial 

Manures  on 263 

"        Will  Manure  Injure  Qual 

ityof 264 

-cake  46 

as  Manure  for  Hops 274 

Roots.  Amount  of  Left  in  Soil  by 

Different  Crops 104 

Root-crops 17 

Rotation* of  Crops  and  Manures —  216 


I?u3limore,  J.  II.,  Letter  from 345 

Routzahn.  H.  L.,  Letter  from 349 

Salt  as  a  Manure  for  Wheat 270 

"    Common  as  Manure  for  Wheat. 200 

"    for  Mangel-wurzels 104 

Saw-dust  for  Bedding •'.  103 

Season,  a  Poor,  Profitable  for  Good 

Farmers 213 

"        and  Manure  for  Oats 253 

"       Influence  of  on  the  Growth 

of  Wheat alO 

"       Profit  in  Rais.ng  Oats    n  a 

Poor 253 

"       Profit  in  Raising  Baric/  in 

a  Poor 243 

Season?.  Influence  on  Crops 21 

Seed  Growers,  Manures  for 290 

Sewage 308 

Sheep-Manure 303-333-339 

•k          "         Composition  of..     ..806 

"      v&.  Oxen  as  Manure  Makers. 303 

Shelton,  Prof.  E.  M.,  Letter  from.. &>0 

Soil,  Composition  of 144-150 

Exhaustion  of 20-27-332 

from  Earth-closet  — : 225 

Nitrogen  and  Phosphoric  Acid 

in  220 

Plant-food  in 105 

Weight  of  per  Ac  e 2^.1 

Soils  Absorb  Ammonia  from  Atmos- 
phere  219 

"     Absorptive  Powers  of        217 

Sorghum,  Manures  for 283 

Soccial  Manures  320 

Straw ~6 

Amount  of  Manure  from 124 

"     and  Chaff  for  Manure 200 

'     for  Manures 48 

'•     on  Grain  Farms 118 

"     Selling 123 

f  turtevant,  Dr.  E.  L.,  Letter  from  3-14 

Superphosphate 116 

for  Barley 241 

for  Indian  Corn.   .27!) 
for  Potatoes        ...2L9 
"•  for    Private    Gar 

dens ...296 

for  Turnips.   .285-322 

for  Wheat 168-169 

"  from  Bones,  Com- 

position of...   .319 
"  from     Mineral 

Phosphates..       320 
»  How  Applied...     320 

"  on  Dairy  Farms  .  315 

on  Grass  Land     ..273 
"  Value  of  a:-  Com 

pared  vvita  Bone- 

Dust 319 

"  What    Crops  Best 

for 243 

of    Lime     Doctor 

Made 317 

Superphosphate    of     Lime,    When 

First  Made  in  the  United  States  324 
Surface  Application  of  Manure.  .70  268 

Swamp-muck ** 

11          '•     Composi.ion  of 31 

Swine,  see  Pigs 


Superphospate 
Tehe  How  it 


3G6 


INDEX. 


Thomas,  J.  J.,  I^cirmrlis  on  t>.c  A.r>- 

plication  of  Manures 2C9 

Tillage  is  Manure 32-121- KJ3-2J3 

Tobacco,  Manure  for 275 

Top  dressing  with  Manure 209 

Turnips,  Do  They  Absorb  Nitrogen 

from  the  Atmosphere...25J 
"        Impoverish  the  Soil  More 

than  Grain 250 

Manure  fcr 285 

"        and  Wheat,   Special  Ma 

nures  for 321 

Urine  from  Farm  Animals  Richer 

than  Human 309 

"      vs.  Solid  Manure..     294 

Valuation  of  Fertilizers 324 

Water,  Amount  Given  Off"  by  Plants 

During  Their  Growth 131 

Water  Equivalent  to  Manure 2(.K> 

Weeds 15-11-189 

Weed-seeds  in  Manure 97 

Weld,  Col.  M.  C.,  Letter  from 344 

Wheat,  Ammonia  for 192 

"      Artificial       Manures       for 
Should  be  Drilled  in  with 

...168-169 


Wheat,  Common  Salt  as  Manure  for  £00 
"      Crop,  Composition  of.. X6-l*f- 

138-340 
"      Effect  of  Manure  on.  in  Poor 

Season 213 

"      Influence  of  Season  on £10 

"      is  it  Deteriorating  ? 181) 

"      Larger  Crops  per  Acre 122 

"      Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  Exper- 
iments on 140-170-333 

"      Manures  for 1G7 

"      Mr.  Lawes'  Experiments  on.122 
"      Nitrogen  as  Manure  for  . .  .141 

k>      Plant-food  in 1C! 

"      Potash  as  Manure  for 215 

"      Straw  and  Cliaff  as  a  Manure 

for 200 

"      Summer  Fallowing  for . .  35-16S 
"      the  20th  Crop  on  Same  Land. 213 

"      Top-dressing  for        2"0 

"       vs.       Corn,      Comparative 

Yield  of 276 

"      Well-rotted  Manure  for 267 

"      Why  Our  Crops  are  so  Poor .  214 
ik      Yield  per  Acre 11 


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